Shooting in West Philadelphia
Authorities reported that a Philadelphia police officer lost his life and a second officer was hurt on Saturday when they answered a call about an armed man. According to police commissioner Kevin Bethel, the gunfire happened in the early hours of Saturday in West Philadelphia. The officer who died was named as Shane Seiber, age 40, who had served the department for a decade. Bethel said both officers were brought to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where the surviving officer had surgery and was reported to be in stable condition. A suspect was detained, Bethel added.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S6]
Suspect Charged
Citing law enforcement sources, the Philadelphia Inquirer identified the suspect as Eric Lewis. The Inquirer also reported that Lewis, 35, was employed by Philadelphia's municipal water department. According to 6abc Philadelphia, Lewis has been charged with murder. CBS News also reported that the gunman was charged. The surviving officer's name has not been released.[S1][S5][S7]
Tributes and Aftermath
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro stated that he directed flags to be lowered to half-mast in honor of Seiber. Seiber leaves behind a wife and two children, a seven-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. Based on the Officer Down Memorial Page, which commemorates US law enforcement members who lost their lives on duty, Seiber was at minimum the 376th Philadelphia police department officer killed in the line of duty since 1851. The memorial page noted that he was the 129th among those officers to be killed by gunfire.[S1]
