Another officer was wounded in a deadly shooting that claimed the life of a Philadelphia police officer. The injured man, a 33-year-old married father of five, was shot 12 times and initially listed in critical condition before his status improved to stable.
Eric Lewis, a 35-year-old male accused in the ambush killing of a Philadelphia police officer over the weekend, was arraigned Sunday morning on 76 charges and ordered held without bail. The court documents include murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and other offenses.
Lewis is accused of shooting two police officers early Saturday morning in the 100 block of North 52nd Street in West Philadelphia. One officer, Shane Seiber, was killed. Seiber, a 40-year-old father of two and an Air Force veteran who served 10 years with the Philadelphia Police Department, is survived by his wife, a 7-year-old son, and a 3-year-old daughter.
The other officer sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized in critical condition before later being upgraded. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel stated at a Saturday news conference that Seiber “fought valiantly, but he lost his life today.”
Pennsylvania state Representative Amen Brown (D), who lives near the shooting scene, told reporters Lewis allegedly said during his arrest that he wished he had killed more officers.
Lewis was in possession of two handguns and a shotgun; one of the handguns belonged to an officer wounded in the attack. District Attorney Larry Krasner declined to specify whether Lewis fired the victim’s handgun or how he obtained the other firearms, but noted that nothing in Lewis’ criminal history would have prevented him from obtaining a firearm.
Lewis works for the Philadelphia Water Department and has a criminal record dating back to 2012. Court records show he was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property in 2012 and gun-related offenses and simple assault in 2013, with probation in both cases. In 2018, Lewis pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct involving fighting and again received probation.
