Philadelphia Officer Shane Seiber Killed in West Philadelphia Shooting

PHILADELPHIA — A 10-year Philadelphia police officer was killed and a second officer was shot 12 times early Saturday after they responded to a call about a man with a gun on a porch in West Philadelphia, officials said.

Officer Shane Seiber, 40, was shot three times and died at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. He worked in the 19th Police District, had recently completed SWAT training and leaves behind a wife, a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.

“He fought valiantly, but he lost his life today,” Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.

The second officer, 33, a father of five, was in stable condition after surgery. Bethel said he was “not out of the woods yet.” Police have not released his name.

The call came in shortly after 12:20 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, from the 100 block of North 52nd Street, according to WPVI. The two officers were shot soon after they stepped onto the porch. The gunman then ran down an alley and fired at other officers. District Attorney Larry Krasner said nine more officers were shot at and not hit.

Officers locked down the neighborhood and searched for hours. The suspect, Eric Lewis, 35, was taken into custody after officers found him hiding in a tree, officials said. State Rep. Amen Brown said Lewis had been up there for hours. Police recovered two handguns and a shotgun. One of the handguns belonged to the wounded officer, Bethel said.

Lewis was arraigned Sunday on murder and homicide of a law enforcement officer charges in Seiber’s death, plus 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer and related offenses, and is being held without bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 26, The Philadelphia Tribune reported. Court records show earlier arrests between 2013 and 2020 on gun, drug and assault charges, CBS Philadelphia reported. He lives in the neighborhood and works for the Philadelphia Water Department, according to the president of District Council 33, the city workers’ union, which said it would cooperate fully with investigators.

Krasner called it a “brutal, senseless, horrific killing.”

Mayor Cherelle Parker called Seiber a “servant leader.” “Two babies are without their father,” she said.

Parker asked people to pray for the officers’ families and called on state lawmakers to expand Pennsylvania’s involuntary commitment law to cover substance use disorder and other behavioral problems. Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered flags flown at half-staff.

“It’s a period of mourning for us, but we will stand tall as a department and get through this together,” Bethel said.