File photo.

Authorities confirmed Monday that a Levittown man was shot by a Bensalem Township police officer on Saturday.

The man who was shot was identified by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office as John Thomas Mathis, 44.

John Thomas Mathis in a photo released by police before the shooting.
Credit: Bristol Township police

Mathis was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia and remains hospitalized in stable condition as of Monday, officials said.

The district attorney’s office said Bucks County Detectives are investigating the shooting involving the office and District Attorney Jennifer Schorn will make a determination on whether the shooting was justified.

The officer who fired the rounds that struck Mathis has been placed on administrative leave, officials said.

According to a press release, the incident began at approximately 5:43 p.m. Saturday when a Bensalem Township officer was dispatched to an armed confrontation involving a motorcyclist.

A man reported that a motorcyclist, later identified as Mathis, had engaged in a series of aggressive driving maneuvers, pointed a handgun at his face, and threatened to rob him, authorities said.

The victim drove away and called 9-1-1, while stating that Mathis was following him, officials said.

The officer pulled up and stopped his patrol vehicle between the victim’s car and the motorcycle upon arrival at Route 13 and Appleton Avenue in Bristol Township, authorities said.

The district attorney’s office said the male and female victims in the car reported hearing the officer issue verbal commands before they saw Mathis run away from his motorcycle. The victims then heard three gunshots and observed Mathis fall to the ground.

Multiple officers arrived and began giving life-saving care to Mathis, officials said.

Mathis sustained two gunshot wounds to his left shoulder blade area and one to his right armpit area.

The district attorney’s office noted that Mathis has a history of aggressive behavior and numerous open criminal cases in Bucks County.

In a statement, prosecutors said the cases include an aggravated assault while DUI case in Bristol Township, pending sentencings for receiving stolen property in Bristol Borough and Lower Southampton Township, and a fleeing incident in Middletown Township. He also has two open state violation cases for theft by unlawful taking and retail theft.

“After he pleaded guilty in the Bristol Borough case in July 2023, Bucks County prosecutors asked for his bail to be revoked, and a judge approved the request. However, in May 2025, another judge placed Mathis on pre-trial supervision with GPS monitoring on all the open matters, despite the District Attorney’s objections.

“Since then, Mathis has repeatedly violated his release conditions and even cut off his GPS monitor. As a result, his bail was revoked again last Thursday, and bench warrants were issued for his arrest in connection with the outstanding cases,” authorities said.

Mathis is being charged with a unrelated road rage incident that happened in Bristol Township on July 27. In that incident, authorities said, Mathis is caused two collisions, exited his vehicle with a baseball bat, and struck the other car’s driver-side door and front windshield before fleeing.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

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