Two Philadelphia police officers faced a deadly trap early Saturday morning. One died. The other survived twelve gunshot wounds. The man who did this is now in custody. This happened in West Philadelphia.
Shane Seiber, a 40-year-old father of two, was the officer killed. He had served on the force for ten years. His partner was shot twelve times. The suspect fired at nine more officers later. None of those other nine were hit. Police received a call at 12:22 a.m. about a man with a gun on a porch. The two officers arrived just over thirty minutes later. They stepped onto the porch and took heavy fire. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel described the event at a news conference.
He fought valiantly, but he lost his life today. The shooting was described as a brutal, senseless, horrific killing. Seiber died in the hospital. His wife was there. His family was there. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center holds the other officer in stable condition. The suspect fled down an alley after the first shots. He then fired on nine more responding officers. Police found him hiding up a tree hours later. Eric Lewis, 35, is the man arrested. He now faces roughly 80 separate charges.
🚨 BREAKING: A Philadelphia police officer is dead and another is in critical condition after an ambush while responding to a call about an armed suspect early this morning.
Police say the suspect shot one officer 12 times and the other three times. SWAT found him hiding in a tree and took him into custody.
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Commissioner Bethel spoke with strong emotion about his team. He praised the men and women who serve. He told reporters he is proud of the men and women who serve in this department and added that they consistently face danger.
Bethel warned that the surviving officer is not out of the woods yet. The police recovered a shotgun and two handguns at the scene. One gun came from the officer who was shot. This attack happened while officers were checking a simple call. They were responding to a report of a man on a porch. The suspect turned that call into an ambush. The family of the officer now faces the task of laying him to rest.
Eric Lewis is the man in custody. He was found hiding in a tree. He faces murder charges. He also faces ten counts of attempted murder.
The police recovered weapons from the suspect. A shotgun was found. Two handguns were found. One of the guns was taken from a fallen officer. The suspect fired at nine more officers after the first ambush. None of those nine officers were hit. This is a developing story. As information becomes available, RedState will provide more. The family of Shane Seiber has lost a husband and a father. The community has lost a protector. The suspect now waits in custody for the legal process to begin.
Before he passed, his family and his wife were able to be at his side. That is the final reality for the Seiber family. The law will now take its course against Eric Lewis. The city of Philadelphia mourns a good man.