UPDATE (Wed., Oct. 14, 11:30 a.m.): District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a video posted to YouTube on Tuesday that the 2019 murder investigation that ended in Eric Lewis’s 2023 acquittal was “deeply flawed,” and that “some of the conduct involving one police officer and one detective is arguably criminal,” according to WHYY and KYW Newsradio. Krasner said the judge “did what he had to do” and praised the prosecutors who tried the case, according to WHYY. He took no questions, KYW reported.
The Philadelphia Police Department responded in a statement that “there will be a time to address the full record, but it is not now,” and that “assigning blame while families are grieving does nothing to advance accountability,” The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW reported. The department said it “will continue to examine every aspect of this matter, including the prior investigation and prosecution,” and that “where accountability is warranted, we will act.” The officer and detective Krasner faulted have not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the 2019 case.
Funeral arrangements have been announced for Officer Seiber, FOX29 and 6abc reported. A celebration of life will be held Monday, Oct. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. at John F. Givnish Life Celebration Home. A visitation will be held Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 8:15 to 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, followed by a funeral Mass at noon. Seiber, an Air Force veteran who served two tours in Iraq, leaves his wife, Lisa, and their two children, FOX29 reported. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Tue., Oct. 13, 2 p.m.): Eric Lewis, the 35-year-old charged in the killing of Officer Shane Seiber, was tried for murder in a 2019 West Philadelphia shooting and was found not guilty, The Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC10 reported.
Lewis was charged in fall 2020 in the Aug. 31, 2019, shooting death of Christopher Williams, 32, on the 900 block of Fallon Street, the Inquirer reported. According to an affidavit of probable cause cited by NBC10, Williams was driving near Fallon Street and Wyalusing Avenue when an argument with people in an SUV blocking the street ended in gunfire. Common Pleas Court Judge J. Scott O’Keefe acquitted Lewis at an April 2023 bench trial, finding the prosecution had not proven its case, according to the Inquirer.
District Attorney Larry Krasner told NBC10 the judge was “forced” to acquit because of misconduct by some of the officers and detectives involved in the investigation. Krasner alleged that a former Philadelphia police officer, Nyeem Crawley, who was reportedly in a relationship with Lewis’s sister, made up a tip pointing to a different person as the gunman, and later admitted it was false. “He should not have been out,” Krasner said. Police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp confirmed to NBC10 that Crawley separated from the department in September 2025, and said the department is reviewing the earlier case and related internal affairs records.
Williams’ mother, Darlene Brown, told the Inquirer she is praying for Seiber’s family. The Defender Association of Philadelphia, which represents Lewis, does not comment on pending cases, NBC10 reported. Lewis was acquitted in the 2019 case and is presumed innocent of the current charges unless proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Mon., Oct. 12, 3 p.m.): Eric Lewis, 35, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 26, according to court documents reviewed by NBC10. The station reported that Lewis faces 76 criminal charges, including homicide of a law enforcement officer and murder in the death of Officer Shane Seiber, as well as 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder and terroristic threats.
Lewis has a criminal record dating to 2012, but District Attorney Larry Krasner said he had no felony convictions that would have barred him from owning a gun, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Seiber, 40, was also an Air Force veteran who served at Dover Air Force Base from 2007 to 2015, NBC10 reported. Funeral arrangements have not been announced. The wounded 33-year-old officer has not been publicly identified. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Mon., Oct. 12, 8 a.m.): An arrest report obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer gives a fuller account of the standoff after the shooting. According to the report, gunfire from the dark alley behind the home sent responding officers diving behind parked cars, and no one else was struck. A SWAT team arrived about 1:40 a.m. Two snipers on a North Wilton Street rooftop then heard a man in a tree in the alley, about two stories up, asking them not to shoot. Lewis fell from the tree, told officers he was hurt and could not walk, and was arrested by a SWAT officer carrying a ballistic shield, the report said.
At Jefferson University Hospital, Lewis told officers he shot them after they put their hands on him, and he also said he shot them because they were white, according to the report. “I did what I did because they did what they did,” he said, the report states.
Police recovered two handguns and a shotgun from a nearby yard, the Inquirer reported. One of the handguns was a 9mm Glock service weapon belonging to the wounded officer, loaded with a magazine from Seiber’s belt. Seiber was the fourth Philadelphia police officer to die in the line of duty in the last three years, according to the Inquirer.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced. Businesses in Manayunk and Roxborough donated part of their Sunday sales to Seiber’s family, CBS Philadelphia reported. The wounded 33-year-old officer has not been publicly identified. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Sun., Oct. 11, 7 p.m.): The Philadelphia Police Department on Sunday released an official photo of Officer Shane Seiber and a booking photo of Eric Lewis, 35, along with a news release giving its first detailed account of the shooting.
According to the release, two 19th District officers responded at about 12:17 a.m. Saturday to a report of a person with a gun on the 100 block of North 52nd Street. While investigating, they encountered a man on the porch, and “a struggle ensued, during which both officers were shot,” police said. Responding officers found both officers unresponsive on the porch and took them to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Seiber, 40, was pronounced dead at 9:04 a.m. Saturday, police said. He joined the department in September 2016 and had served in the 19th District since January 2018. The surviving officer, 33, has nine years with the department and has been assigned to the 19th District since December 2018, according to the release. He has not been publicly identified.
Police said additional gunfire followed the initial encounter and a barricade was declared. SWAT officers took Lewis into custody, and he was taken to a hospital for evaluation before being brought to the Homicide Unit, according to the release. The investigation remains ongoing with the Homicide Unit. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Sun., Oct. 11, 11:30 a.m.): Eric Lewis appeared in Municipal Court early Sunday morning, where he was charged with murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, assault of a law enforcement officer and a host of additional crimes, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Court records show Lewis is being held without bail at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, according to the Inquirer.
Lewis is represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Chief Defender Keisha Hudson declined to comment on the case Sunday, the Inquirer reported.
Police said Lewis took one of the officers’ firearms during the shooting, leading to a standoff in which he fired at responding officers before police spotted him in a tree next to the home and ordered him to surrender. The wounded 33-year-old officer remains hospitalized at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in stable but serious condition and has not been publicly identified. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER UPDATE (Sun., Oct. 11, 8 a.m.): Eric Lewis, 35, faces roughly 80 charges in the ambush that killed Officer Shane Seiber, FOX29 reported, citing the District Attorney’s Office. Along with homicide of a law enforcement officer and murder in Seiber’s death, the charges include 10 counts each of attempted homicide and attempted murder, covering the wounded officer and nine other officers who prosecutors say were fired upon but not struck. WHYY reported that the charges also include disarming a law enforcement officer and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
Lewis remains held without bail. District Attorney Larry Krasner said a preliminary arraignment and bail hearing will take place in the coming days, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and WHYY. No date has been announced.
Court records reviewed by the Inquirer show Lewis has prior convictions. In 2012, he was charged with theft and receiving stolen property and was later convicted and sentenced to two years of probation. He was arrested again the following year on misdemeanor charges of carrying a firearm in public and simple assault, and was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to five years of probation, the Inquirer reported.
Lewis has worked as a trades helper for the Philadelphia Water Department since 2024, according to the Inquirer. District Council 33 President Greg Boulware confirmed Lewis was a city employee and union member, and the union extended condolences to Seiber’s family and wished the surviving officer a full recovery, CBS Philadelphia reported.
Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered flags flown at half-staff in Seiber’s honor, 6abc reported. Seiber lived in Bensalem, Bucks County, according to the Inquirer. The wounded 33-year-old officer has not been publicly identified. Lewis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EARLIER 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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