“Officers were taking gunfire,” Stollsteimer said. “Police officers and the fire department who were out there, there was still shots coming out at the beginning of this fire scene.”

Police first responded to a report that an 11-year-old girl had been shot in Lewis Avenue, a suburban street in East Lansdowne, west of Philadelphia, at 3:47 p.m. It is not known whether the girl or the gunman were inside the house at the time of the fire.

When the two officers — one from East Lansdown Police and one from Lansdown Police — arrived at the house they were both shot once by someone inside and immediately returned fire, police said.

Both officers were dragged to safety by officers from Upper Darby Police Department, using ballistic shields as cover while gunfire continued, police said. The so-far unnamed male officers, one described as a 22-year veterans, were last night recovering in a local hospital from non-life-threatening injuries.