A Temple University police officer was shot and killed Saturday night near the campus in North Philadelphia.
Authorities did locate a car in the city that they believe the suspect was driving Saturday night and a Bucks County man, identified in published reports at Miles Pfeffer, 18, of Buckingham, was taken into custody Sunday morning at his Quarry Road home in connection with the case.
Charges against him have yet to be released.
The Temple University Police Association confirmed Sunday in a Twitter post that “a suspect has been taken into custody for the murder of one of our police officers.” The organization said it had been told “that the arrest was made using our fallen officer’s handcuffs.”
Robert Clark, supervisory deputy for the U.S. Marshal, said the 18-year-old was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of the officer at 7:30 a.m. Sunday with assistance from the Central Bucks Special Response Team, Buckingham Police, Philadelphia Homicide Detectives and US Marshals.
The on-duty officer, identified as Christopher Fitzgerald, was shot at 1700 W. Montgomery Avenue “while trying to apprehend the suspect in a robbery of a convenience store located at the corner of Cecil B. Moore and 15th Street. The officer was later pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital,” the statement read.
However, authorities later described the incident as a carjacking.
Fitzgerald, 31, is the first university officer to have been killed in the line of duty, officials said.
Both the Philadelphia Police Department and the Temple University Police Department are investigating.
“There are simply no words that can make sense of such a tragedy. It tears at our sense of community, and wounds us to our very soul.,” the university statement read. “Temple has lost an officer and hero to senseless violence. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family, friends and the entire Temple community during this tremendously difficult time.”
The Temple University Police Association said details of the shooting were still incomplete, but Fitzgerald was killed in the line of duty. WPVI-TV reported that the officer was shot in the head, and there were no immediate arrests.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a Saturday news conference that the officer intervened in a carjacking and was shot.
“(The Philadelphia Police Department) is doing everything that we can to make sure that not only is this person responsible taken into custody and brought to justice, but for every other suspect out there that is doing the same and wishing harm amongst our law enforcement community and our Philadelphia community,” she said.
University president Jason Wingard said he was “heartbroken” and called the shooting “a gut-wrenching reminder of our police officers’ daily bravery and sacrifices to protect our students, faculty, staff and community” as the city and the nation deal with “an unprecedented epidemic of violence.”
Ken Kaiser, the university’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, was quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer as saying it was the first shooting death of a campus officer during his more than 30 years at Temple. “It just shakes everybody to the core,” he said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted that he and first lady Lori were “devastated for the family of the Temple University police officer who was killed in the line of duty tonight, bravely serving his community.”
They sent prayers to his family, Temple police and the university community, he added, saying, “May his memory be a blessing.”
Joseph Regan, president of the Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge, also expressed condolences.
“There are no words to describe the news of another one of our officers being shot,” Regan said in a statement. “This officer is a hero whose legacy and unselfish act will live in our hearts and memories forever.”
It was the first fatal shooting of an on-duty police officer in Philadelphia since 2020, according to the Inquirer .
Bucks County authorities are working with state, Philadelphia, and federal authorities in this ongoing investigation., according to the county District Attorney’s Office.
“Out of respect for the fallen officer and so as not to impede the ongoing investigation, we are deferring to the Philadelphia Police Department and the Temple University Police Department to release additional information … Additionally, no charges have been filed against this suspect in Bucks County. We, at the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the fallen Temple University Police Officer,” the DA’s release reads.
Police asked anyone with information to call 215-204-1234.
