Philadelphia officer dies after shooting, second officer remains hospitalized

Philadelphia police officer Shane Seiber died after a shooting in the city’s west on October 10. A second officer who suffered multiple gunshot wounds is in stable condition, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.

Officers went to the North 52nd Street block after a report of an armed man on a home’s porch. Police said they came under heavy fire as they approached him. Initial reports described two wounded officers undergoing surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Authorities later confirmed Seiber’s death.

Seiber was 40 and had served in the department for ten years. He leaves a wife and two children. The other wounded officer is 33. Bethel said he was shot 12 times and cautioned that his stable condition did not mean he was out of danger.

Additional officers responded after the initial shooting. Authorities said the man fired at other officers before he was located in a tree and arrested. Two handguns and a shotgun were recovered. Bethel’s early account said one handgun had been taken from a wounded officer.

District Attorney Larry Krasner announced charges against Eric Lewis, 35, including homicide of a law enforcement officer and attempted homicide. Krasner said nine other officers were fired upon in addition to the two who were struck. None of those nine was injured. Lewis is being held without bail.

Mayor Cherelle Parker expressed support for the officers’ families. Governor Josh Shapiro ordered flags lowered in Seiber’s memory.