UPDATE (Sat., Oct. 10, 4 p.m.): Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has identified the man accused in the shooting as Eric Lewis, 35, and announced charges including homicide of a law enforcement officer, murder, disarming a law enforcement officer, attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder and aggravated assault, among other offenses, 6abc reported from the DA’s afternoon news conference. Krasner said Lewis will face a preliminary arraignment and will be held without bail, and that the case lists 11 victims, including the two officers who were shot, according to 6abc. The wounded 33-year-old officer, who has not been named, remains in stable condition, according to NBC10. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Sat., Oct. 10, noon): Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel has identified the officer who died as Officer Shane Seiber, 40, a 10-year veteran of the department assigned to the 19th District, NBC10 and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Seiber, who was shot three times, was a husband and the father of a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. “He fought valiantly, but he lost his life today,” Bethel said, adding that Seiber’s wife and family were able to be by his side before he died, according to FOX29.
The second officer, a 33-year-old father of five who was shot 12 times, is now in stable condition but is “not out of the woods,” Bethel said, according to FOX29 and NBC10. Bethel said the suspect remains in custody and is going through the charging process with the District Attorney’s Office, FOX29 reported. Police have not officially identified him, and no charges had been announced as of this update. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said she is working with Gov. Josh Shapiro and state officials to seek legislation expanding Pennsylvania’s involuntary commitment laws to cover substance use disorder and other mental or behavioral challenges, FOX29 reported.
EARLIER UPDATE (Sat., Oct. 10, 10:00 a.m.): One of the two officers has died, FOX29 reported, citing the Philadelphia Police Department. Police have not said which of the two officers died, and his name has not been released. The second officer remains in critical condition, FOX29 reported. As of this update, the department had not posted a public statement, and other local outlets had not yet reported the death.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that, according to authorities, the man ambushed the officers with a shotgun outside his West Philadelphia home. No charges had been announced as of this update, and police have not officially identified the suspect. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Sat., Oct. 10, 8:55 a.m.): Both wounded officers are in critical condition, FOX29 reported, adding that Commissioner Bethel confirmed both are alive but face a long road to recovery. One officer has completed surgery and the other was still in surgery, NBC10 reported. The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the alleged shooter as Eric Lewis, a Philadelphia Water Department employee. Police have not officially identified him, and no charges had been announced. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents West Philadelphia, called the shooting a “horrific act of violence,” adding, “our city will not accept this as normal,” according to the Inquirer.
WEST PHILADELPHIA — Two Philadelphia police officers were shot a combined 15 times early Saturday, Oct. 10, after responding to a report of a man with a gun on a porch on the 100 block of North 52nd Street, Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said. A suspect was taken into custody after a SWAT team found him in a tree.
Both officers, who work out of the 19th District, were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and went into surgery. Officials had not released their names or conditions as of Saturday morning. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker described them as “badly wounded,” according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Call To 52nd Street
Officers were dispatched to the block shortly after 12:20 a.m. for a report of a man with a gun on a porch, 6abc reported. According to Bethel’s account, the officers arrived roughly 30 minutes later, and they came under what he called “significant gunfire” soon after stepping onto the porch. NBC10 put the response shortly before 1 a.m.
Bethel said a 33-year-old officer was shot 12 times. A 40-year-old officer was shot three times.
Search, Shots At More Officers, And An Arrest
Additional officers and a SWAT team responded. Police said the gunman fled down an alleyway and fired at two more officers, who were not hit, according to 6abc and NBC10. The neighborhood was placed under lockdown during the search, and a staging area was set up at 52nd and Race streets, 6abc reported.
“We were able to locate this individual in a tree, and we were able to take him into custody,” Bethel said, according to the Inquirer. CBS Philadelphia reported that officers pulled the man from the tree.
Police recovered three guns, a shotgun and two handguns, Bethel said. One of the handguns had been taken from one of the wounded officers.
“Pray For Them”
At an early-morning news conference outside Penn Presbyterian, Bethel said the 40-year-old officer has two children and the 33-year-old officer has five.
“I am so damn proud of the men and women who serve in this department. Consistently, they go into danger, and they give their lives for this job,” Bethel said, according to 6abc. “And so we ask for those prayers, and we ask for you to support our men and women out there, and what they give for this profession.”
Parker said she had spoken with both officers’ families and asked the public to pray.
“Their families right now are feeling unspeakable pain, but watching this department and those families sticking close together as a village has definitely shown me what the indomitable power of the human spirit is and can mean during times like this,” Parker said, as quoted by the Inquirer.
“I believe in the power of prayer,” she said, according to NBC10, adding that “the most powerful thing we can be doing right now is to pray.”
What Is Still Unknown
As of late Saturday morning, police had not officially identified the suspect or announced charges, and the wounded 33-year-old officer’s name had not been released. Officials have not said what led to the original call, why the man opened fire, or how he got one of the officers’ guns.
Philly Crime Update will update this story as police release more information. Anyone who is charged is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Sources: FOX29 (Tyler Thrasher); NBC10 (David Chang); 6abc; CBS Philadelphia (Joe Brandt, Madeleine Wright); The Philadelphia Inquirer (Brett Sholtis, Ellie Rushing, Maggie Prosser).
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