Philadelphia police Officer Shane Seiber, 40, was fatally shot and a second officer was wounded early Saturday, Oct. 10, in West Philadelphia. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel described the second officer’s condition as stable on Saturday afternoon, though some early reports had called it critical. District Attorney Larry Krasner later identified the suspect as Eric Lewis, 35, and said he was being held without bail. The charges are allegations, and Lewis is presumed innocent.
Officials had not announced a motive in reports published Saturday night.
What happened
According to Bethel, as relayed by WHYY, CBS Philadelphia and 6abc, police were sent to the 100 block of North 52nd Street, in West Philadelphia, for a report of a man with a gun on a porch. The call came shortly after midnight; outlets gave times from about 12:20 a.m. to about 1 a.m. 6abc and WHYY reported that officers arrived about 30 minutes after the call.
Bethel said the officers met heavy gunfire as they approached the porch. 6abc reported that the gunman then ran down an alley and fired at other officers, none of whom were hit. Krasner said Lewis shot two officers and fired at nine others.
SWAT officers secured the area. Several outlets reported that the suspect was found in a tree and taken into custody. Police have not given an arrest time; NBC10 reported about 3:30 a.m. Krasner identified Lewis at a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
The officers
Seiber was a 10-year veteran of the department and was assigned to the 19th District, according to WHYY, NBC10 and the Inquirer. He was shot several times and was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died. The Inquirer reported that Bethel put the time of death shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday, and that his wife and family were with him before he died. He is survived by his wife, a son who is 7 and a daughter who is 3.
The second officer, who was with Seiber, is 33 and the father of five, according to the Inquirer and other outlets. He was wounded and underwent surgery. Some early reports described his condition as critical. At the Saturday news conference, Bethel described it as stable but said the officer was not out of the woods yet. His name had not been released.
The arrest and the charges
Krasner announced the charges at the Saturday news conference. Outlets reported these: homicide of a law enforcement officer for Seiber’s death, and attempted homicide or attempted murder counts covering the wounded officer and the nine other officers who were fired on. CBS Philadelphia and 6abc also reported a murder count. WHYY listed aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and CBS Philadelphia listed possession of an instrument of crime (a weapon used in a crime) and reckless endangerment. The Inquirer and WHYY reported counts of disarming a law enforcement officer.
Reports differ on the number of counts, so no total is given.
Bethel said three guns were recovered, two handguns and a shotgun, and that one of the handguns belonged to a wounded officer. The Inquirer reported that Lewis allegedly took an officer’s service pistol and fired at arriving officers. It is not clear whether that is the same handgun Bethel described.
The court process
Krasner said Lewis would be held without bail, which is a prosecutor’s statement. WHYY reported that a preliminary arraignment (the first formal appearance, where bail is addressed) and bail hearing were still expected and that no court dates had been set. CBS Philadelphia reported Krasner saying a preliminary hearing would be held Saturday, while another CBS Philadelphia page said it would come soon. The Associated Press said an arraignment was expected soon. No hearing date has been announced as of early Sunday.
The district attorney’s office says on its website that preliminary hearings are generally held within two weeks of an arrest. That is the office’s general rule, not a schedule for this case. At that hearing, prosecutors must show probable cause for each felony charge.
What is known about the suspect
The Inquirer and WHYY reported, from court records, an earlier criminal history. They list a 2012 theft case that ended in a conviction with probation, and a 2015 conviction, from a 2013 arrest, for carrying a firearm in public and simple assault, with five years of probation. The Inquirer described both of those counts as misdemeanors. It also listed a 2018 disorderly conduct conviction. These details come from the newspapers’ reading of the records, not from a statement by officials. 6abc reported prior arrests between 2013 and 2020 on gun, drug and assault charges, without saying how each was resolved.
Krasner said, as reported by the Inquirer, that Lewis had no felony convictions that would have barred him from owning a gun. CBS Philadelphia reported that Krasner declined to discuss the criminal history. Krasner also declined to say whether Lewis showed signs of mental illness or substance use, and WHYY reported that he called it premature to comment on either.
On employment, Greg Boulware, president of AFSCME District Council 33, identified Lewis as a Philadelphia Water Department employee and a union member, according to CBS Philadelphia. The Inquirer reported that the union’s statement did not itself confirm his employment. The Inquirer, citing city payroll records, reported that he has worked in the department since 2024. The Inquirer also reported that the union said it does not condone violence in any form, and NBC10 reported that the union said it was deeply shaken and would cooperate with investigators.
It was not clear whether Lewis has a lawyer.
Statements and tributes
Bethel said Seiber fought valiantly but lost his life, and that the department would get through the mourning period together. Krasner called the killing brutal, senseless and horrific, according to the Inquirer and the Associated Press.
Mayor Cherelle Parker, as reported by the Inquirer and NBC10, called Seiber a servant leader who died protecting the city and said his wife and two children were left without him.
Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered U.S. and Pennsylvania flags to half-staff in Seiber’s honor. Sen. John Fetterman said he hoped the second officer would make a full and speedy recovery, according to CBS Philadelphia. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents the area, called the shooting incredibly tragic and urged more mental health services. She told CBS Philadelphia that she has worked for about a year with neighbors and nonprofits on safety and community-police relations, and said the work would not stop every incident. Councilmember Curtis Jones said, per CBS Philadelphia, that he wants action through the charges and not thoughts and prayers.
The Inquirer reported that dozens of officers and city leaders gathered at Penn Presbyterian, and NBC10 reported a procession after the news conference.
The involuntary commitment proposal
Officials have not said whether mental illness or substance use played any role in the shooting, and Krasner said it was premature to comment. Parker’s and Gauthier’s remarks were calls on policy; neither said Lewis has a mental illness.
Parker called on state leaders to expand the state’s involuntary commitment laws, which govern when a person can be held for mental health treatment against their will, to cover substance use disorder and other severe behavioral health crises, according to WHYY and CBS Philadelphia. The Inquirer reported that Shapiro’s administration said it is prepared to review the laws with the General Assembly.
Context
The Inquirer reported that Seiber’s death is the department’s fourth line-of-duty death in three years. The newspaper’s own analysis counted 20 Philadelphia officers shot over the same period.
Nationally, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s year-end report, as of Jan. 6, 2026, counted 111 officers who died in the line of duty in 2025. That was 25 percent fewer than the 148 counted in 2024.
What is known and not yet known
Known so far: Seiber is dead, a second officer is in stable condition, Lewis is in custody and charged, and three guns were recovered.
Not announced: a motive; the next court date; funeral arrangements or a fund for the family, though CBS Philadelphia reported that an Officer Down Memorial Page entry was created; the name of the second officer; and a complete count of the charges.