A Philadelphia police officer was killed and his partner was seriously wounded when a man opened fire on them early Saturday morning in West Philadelphia, authorities said.
The suspect, a 35-year-old Water Department employee, was taken into custody and is facing multiple charges, including murder and attempted murder, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Officer Shane Seiber, a 40-year-old father of two young children, died around 9 a.m. Saturday at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, several hours after he encountered the alleged shooter, Eric Lewis, police said.
Seiber and his partner from the 19th Police District, a 33-year-old man whose name has not been released, responded just after 12:15 a.m. to a report of a man with a gun on the porch of a property on the 100 block of N. 52nd Street, near Race Street, law enforcement officials said.
Lewis is accused of shooting both officers during a struggle. Seiber was struck three times, and his partner sustained 12 gunshot wounds, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters. The surviving officer remained hospitalized over the weekend, though his condition has stabilized, Bethel said.
Backup officers arrived at the scene, and District Attorney Larry Krasner said Lewis fired at nine additional officers. No other injuries were reported.
SWAT personnel eventually found Lewis in a tree and apprehended him, according to Bethel. Police said they recovered a shotgun and two handguns, one of which was a Glock taken from a wounded officer.
Prosecutors charged Lewis with the homicide of a law enforcement officer and murder, along with 10 counts each of attempted murder and aggravated assault, among other offenses.
He is being held without bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26. The public defender’s association, which is representing Lewis, did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees confirmed that Lewis belonged to their union and worked for the Philadelphia Water Department.
“District Council 33 does not condone violence in any form, under any circumstances,” the union wrote in a Facebook post. “This act of violence is not reflective of our values, our mission, or the conduct we expect from our members.”
While authorities have not detailed what led to the shooting, Mayor Cherelle Parker said she intends to go to Harrisburg to “seek legislation that will expand involuntary commitment laws to cover not only severe mental illness but substance use disorder and any kind of mental and/or behavioral challenge that could interfere with Philadelphia’s ability to keep itself safe.”
Problems with existing regulations extend beyond the city, Parker said, pointing to the Friday shooting in Erie that left nine people dead, including the gunman.
“We can no longer act as if the laws we have on the books are enough,” the mayor added.
Seiber is survived by his wife, 7-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, Bethel said. He joined the PPD 10 years ago; prior to becoming a city officer, he served in the Air Force at a base in Dover, the Delaware Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge wrote on social media.
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