PHILADELPHIA, PA – Police are searching for suspects in a tragic incident that unfolded last night at Philadelphia International Airport, where one police officer was killed and another injured.
The officers were shot while on duty in the airport’s parking garage.
Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford reported that the officers were arriving for their shifts at the airport when they noticed a vehicle break-in occurring.
“When the officers approached the suspects, [they] opened fire,” said Stanford. One officer was struck multiple times in the torso, and his colleague was hit in the arm.
The officer hit in the torso was quickly transported to Penn Presbyterian Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 11:30 p.m. His colleague, who was wounded in the arm, was taken to Jefferson Hospital. Authorities have confirmed that he is expected to survive.
The deceased officer was a 22-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and leaves behind a spouse and one child.
Commenting on the devastating loss, Commissioner Stanford called it a “numb moment” for the department, especially considering that three other officers were injured in a separate shooting just last week.
Fellow police officers and family members gathered at the hospital to salute their fallen colleague. His body was subsequently escorted to the medical examiner’s office and then to a local funeral home.
Investigations into the shooting and the vehicle break-in that instigated it are ongoing.