A Philadelphia police officer was fatally shot and another was wounded on Saturday after responding to a report of a man with a gun, authorities have confirmed. Shane Seiber, 40, was killed early on Saturday morning in West Philadelphia, according to the city’s police commissioner, Kevin Bethel.
Officer Seiber, a 10-year veteran of the Philadelphia police department, and the other officer were transported to the Penn Presbyterian medical centre. The surviving officer underwent surgery and is listed in stable condition, Commissioner Bethel said.
Commissioner Bethel also stated that a suspect is in custody. The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing law enforcement sources, identified the suspect as Eric Lewis, 35, who is reportedly employed by Philadelphia’s municipal water department.
Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, has ordered flags to fly at half-mast for Officer Seiber, who is survived by his wife and two children, aged seven and three. Officer Seiber is at least the 376th Philadelphia police department officer to die in the line of duty since 1851, and the 129th to die from gunfire, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.