A Temple University police officer was fatally shot near the Philadelphia campus Saturday night, authorities said.
The Associated Press reports that Officer Christopher Fitzgerald was shot in the head while responding to an incident.
The alleged shooter, Miles Pfeffer, 18, is in custody and will face charges of murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and weapons crimes, prosecutors say.
“Pfeffer is also alleged to have attempted to rob Officer Fitzgerald of his gun and to have gone through his pockets, while the officer was laying on the ground and fatally wounded,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said. “Pfeffer is further alleged to have committed a carjacking a short time after, close to the location of the officer’s murder.”
Temple University said Fitzgerald had been on the university police force since October 2021.
“Officer Fitzgerald gave his life to selflessly serve and defend this community,” Jennifer Griffin, the university’s vice president for public safety, said in a statement. “This loss leaves an enormous hole in all of our hearts. He was a father, a husband, a son, a colleague, and a friend.”
A GoFundMe page for the Fitzgerald family had raised more than $242,000 as of Monday morning.
Video from NBC 10 Philadelphia:
