Alexa Schwerha on February 20, 2023
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Police in Philadelphia have announced the U.S. Marshals Service has made an arrest in the shooting death of Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald.
An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday in connection with the fatal shooting of a Temple University (TU) police officer over the weekend, ABC News reported.
Miles Pfeffer was taken into custody Sunday morning and transported to Philadelphia to face several charges including murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery and carjacking related to the fatal shooting of TU officer Christopher Fitzgerald, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, as reported by ABC News. Fitzgerald was reportedly shot in the head Saturday night near the Philadelphia campus during an “incident investigation,” after which Pfeffer allegedly attempted to rob Fitzgerald of his guns and went through his pockets when he was wounded.
He allegedly committed a carjacking after fatally shooting Fitzgerald, according to ABC News. He fled the scene and was picked up by U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the Temple University Police Association confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The incident was the first fatal shooting of a TU officer, the association also confirmed.
“We join law enforcement and people across the region in expressing our heartbreak and outrage over this horrific crime,” Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s district attorney, reportedly said in a statement. “Officer Fitzgerald’s life was ripped from him and his loved ones violently and senselessly. As the DA’s Homicide Unit begins the work of holding Miles Pfeffer accountable for his alleged crimes, our Victims Services team will also be extending loving support to Officer Fitzgerald’s family and loved ones.”
Fitzgerald leaves behind his wife, four children and both of his parents, ABC News reported.
“I am heartbroken to inform you that Temple University has lost a first responder and hero to senseless gun violence. A Temple police officer was shot this evening while trying to apprehend a robbery suspect at 1700 W. Montgomery Avenue. The officer was later pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital,” TU President Jason Wingard said in a statement on Saturday. “There are simply no words that can make sense of this tragedy. It tears at our sense of community and safety. We all mourn this unspeakable loss.”
Temple University and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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