Philadelphia Officer Shane Seiber, 40, Killed in Overnight Ambush Shooting; Suspect Eric Lewis Charged With Homicide
Officer Shane Seiber, a 10-year veteran and father of two, was shot three times responding to a report of a man with a gun in West Philadelphia early Saturday. His partner was shot 12 times and remains hospitalized while suspect Eric Lewis, 35, faces homicide charges.
A Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed early Saturday while responding to a report of a man with a gun in West Philadelphia, and a 35-year-old suspect is in custody on homicide charges, authorities said.
Officer Shane Seiber, 40, a 10-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and a husband and father of two young children, was shot three times and died at the hospital, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a Saturday news conference.
Seiber’s partner, a 33-year-old father of five, was shot 12 times during the same encounter. He underwent surgery and was in stable condition Saturday, though Bethel cautioned he was not yet out of danger.
Gunman opened fire as officers climbed porch steps
Just after midnight Saturday, a report of a man with a gun on a porch brought the two officers to the 100 block of North 52nd Street in West Philadelphia. As the officers climbed the steps to a porch enclosed by an iron fence, the gunman opened fire, according to Bethel. Police have not said where the suspect was positioned when the shooting began.
At some point during the attack, Bethel said, the gunman took a weapon from one of the wounded officers lying in the entryway. Responding backup officers came under fire as well, and SWAT teams eventually located the suspect in a tree.
Police recovered a shotgun and two handguns — including the weapon taken from one of the officers — and took the man into custody.
Suspect faces homicide, attempted murder charges
Eric Lewis, 35, is being charged with homicide for Seiber’s killing, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Saturday afternoon. Lewis also faces attempted homicide charges for allegedly shooting Seiber’s partner and firing at nine additional officers who responded to the scene; none of those nine were injured, according to Krasner.
According to The Associated Press, citing court records, Lewis had prior criminal convictions including assault, theft, and carrying a firearm publicly. He is being held without bail and will be arraigned soon; authorities said he did not sustain serious injuries.
Krasner called the killing brutal and senseless, and authorities were working to determine whether Lewis has legal representation.
The killing comes as the nation reckons with the toll of violence against law enforcement: 31 officers have been feloniously killed in the line of duty so far this year, according to the FBI. It also follows a mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania, where nine people were found dead Friday, including two children.
In response to the Erie killings and Saturday’s shooting of two officers, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker called on Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General to work together to expand the state’s involuntary commitment laws, covering severe mental illness, substance use disorder, and other behavioral challenges. Krasner said it was premature to say whether mental illness or substance use played a role in the Philadelphia shooting.
Shapiro ordered all U.S. and state flags flown at half-staff in Seiber’s memory.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and The Associated Press.
