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A Philadelphia police officer died Saturday morning after a shooting in West Philadelphia.
Officer Shane Seiber, 40, was shot three times while responding to a call in West Philadelphia, according to the department. A 10-year veteran who served in the 19th District, Seiber died at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Seiber leaves behind a wife and two children, a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.
“He fought valiantly, but he lost his life today,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference Saturday.
A 33-year-old police officer was shot 12 times in the same incident and is in “stable” condition in hospital, Bethel said, adding that they’re “not out of the woods yet.”
Philadelphia DA announces charges against suspect identified as Eric Lewis
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Saturday that the suspect, whom he identified as Eric Lewis, 35, had been charged with the murder of a law enforcement officer in Seiber’s death. Additionally, Lewis is charged with attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, two counts of disarming a law enforcement officer, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, among other charges.
Krasner said Lewis shot nine other officers in addition to the two who were hit. Lewis is charged with nine counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and aggravated assault, the prosecutor said.
Lewis will be held without bail, Krasner said, with a preliminary arraignment and bail hearing “in the near future.”
According to state court records, Lewis has a criminal history dating back to 2012. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to weapons charges for a 2013 incident, including carrying a firearm in public.
“This was a brutal, senseless and horrific murder and multiple shooting of another officer,” Krasner said.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said city officials will contact Seiber’s family.
“I need you to know that your village of Philadelphia is here. You are not alone. We will be with you, in the midst of it all,” she said Saturday.
Officers received a call at 12:22 a.m. about a man with a gun on a porch at 140 N. 52nd St., Bethel said at an earlier news conference. Officers arrived on scene 30 minutes later and were greeted by “heavy gunfire” once they approached the porch, he added.
The suspect shot at the officers several times, Bethel said, and the department’s SWAT team moved in to contain the suspect, who was found in a tree and apprehended.
Bethel said he is “so proud of the men and women who serve in this department.”
“They are constantly in danger and give their lives for this work,” he said. “And so we ask for those prayers, and we ask that you support our men and women there, and what they give for this profession.”
Councilman Jamie Gauthier, who represents the 3rd Ward, where the shooting took place, said at a news conference Saturday afternoon that the shooting was “a tragic and senseless incident.”
“We’ve done a tremendous amount of work in this area, the community, with the Philadelphia Community Outreach Committee, 19th, 16th, 18th, to drive out drug trafficking and reduce shootings,” she said. “We’ve had such a measurable impact in the area. And so beyond the fact that it’s incredibly tragic, it seems even more tragic because the community has worked so hard here to make things safer.”
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