What to Know
- Miles Pfeffer is charged with murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and weapons crimes in the death of 31-year-old Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald.
- Fitzgerald was gunned down near the North Philadelphia campus Saturday night. Pfeffer was arrested the next morning at his family's Bucks County home.
- "Christopher's loss is not just our loss as his sisters and brothers in blue, but his loss will be felt by all who were blessed to be touched by his kindness," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Tuesday.
Philadelphia officials were joined by Temple University officials to give an update on the deadly shooting of Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, where police laid out how they apprehended the shooting suspect so quickly, while remembering the officer's service.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, is accused of killing Fitzgerald near North 17 Street and West Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia Saturday night. Fitzgerald was the first Temple police officer killed in the line of duty.
"This is a city that is shook, this is a city, that right now is suffering," an emotional Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a Tuesday news conference. "And it's suffering because a really good person is gone."
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
"Christopher's loss is not just our loss as his sisters and brothers in blue, but his loss will be felt by all who were blessed to be touched by his kindness," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Tuesday.
The interaction began as Fitzgerald -- in full uniform -- got out of his patrol car and approached three people dressed in all black and wearing masks in an area recently fraught with robberies and carjackings, police said Tuesday. Two of the people fled and hid, but a pursuit began of the third person.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7:12 p.m., officer Fitzgerald was heard over the radio in a foot pursuit of a suspect in all black clothing, police said in an affidavit of probable cause.
Police recovered video that shows Fitzgerald running behind Pfeffer and telling the suspect to get on the ground as they ran onto the 1700 block of Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia Police Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom said. The two then begin to tussle behind an SUV, out of camera view.
Pfeffer then pulls out a handgun and fires at the officer, Ransom said Tuesday.
"You can hear the shots and see the muzzle flashes, 'bang, bang, bang,'" Ransom said.
"When officer Fitzgerald then falls to the ground, Pfeffer then shoots the officer, as he is on the ground, three additional shots, 'bang, bang, bang,'" Ransom said.
The gunman motions as if he is about to run away, but then stops, Ransom said.
Then the suspect searched the officer’s pockets and tried to steal his service weapon, but couldn’t get the gun out of the holster, police said.
Temple University police officers responded to the call and located Fitzgerald on the 1700 block of Montgomery Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the face and body, according to police.
Fitzgerald was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m.
A few minutes after the shooting, the same suspect approached another victim on the 1800 block of North 18th Street and stole their car. The suspect is heard saying “give me the keys or I’ll kill you,” and takes the car, according to the police report.
"I didn't really process what he was saying until I saw his gun," said carjacking victim Tim Tran.
"You really don't know what it's like to have a gun pointed at your chest," the carjacked driver told NBC10's Karen Hua.
The stolen car was found crashed into another vehicle along the 1900 block of North 30th Street, police said.
Police said that Pfeffer's mom then picked him up nearby at 29th Street and Ridge Avenue The mom then drove her son back to their home in Bucks County.
On Sunday morning, police descended on the family's Buckingham Township home, where he was arrested using Fitzgerald's handcuffs.
"That's a tradition that we do any time there is a fallen officer. We felt it was important to remember officer Fitzgerald by once again placing his cuffs on the suspect," Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal, Robert Clark explained at the time of the arrest.
On Tuesday, investigators credit an officer listening to the radio at the nearby 22nd Philadelphia Police District to quickly tracking down Pfeffer. That officer went out to provide assistance and heard gunshots.
She then saw two teens -- 16 and 17 year old boys -- running from the area, Ransom said. Police then spoke to those boys -- with their parents' permission -- and identified Pfeffer, which led to an arrest warrant.
Pfeffer waived his rights and spoke to investigators.
“He is currently in custody where he can no longer terrorize members of our community,” Outlaw said Tuesday.
The Bucks County teenager was arraigned early Monday on murder and a slew of other charges in Philadelphia.
Krasner's office charged Pfeffer with murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking, possession of an instrument of crime and related offenses. Pfeffer has been held without bail.
On Tuesday, Krasner said that multiple weapons were recovered from Pfeffer's Bucks County home. However, they had yet to find the gun used in the shooting.
Police said where the weapon allegedly used in Fitzgerald's shooting came from remained under investigation.
Krasner wouldn't comment on if anyone else would be charged in the future.
It wasn't immediately clear if Pfeffer had retained legal representation. The Defender Association of Philadelphia, a nonprofit group that serves as the city's public defender's office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Temple University officials said Fitzgerald, 31, had been on the university police force since October 2021.
University president Jason Wingard promised to do everything it takes to keep people safe in and around the campus.
“We need to do more, we will do more,” Wingard said Tuesday morning.
The university is allocating more resources toward safety initiatives, but can't solve "the systematic violence that plagues this city, that plagues North Philadelphia, can't be solved by Temple alone," Wingard said.
Jennifer Griffin, the university's vice president for public safety, said that the university is considering many police options, including putting more than one officer in each police vehicle more often, however that would reduce the area police officers could cover.
She said the university police continues to look to hire more officers and that it's about making sure they hire the right people, as they have money to hire. New officers go through the Philadelphia Police Academy.
"It's not for a lack of effort," Griffin said about the work being done to hire new officers.
She said that Philadelphia police have been helping out as the Temple department is focused on officers' mental health.
Fitzgerald is one of at least 63 homicide victims in Philadelphia so far in 2023, according to police data. That's down 14% from the same time last year, but still a higher pace than many other years on record as the city continues to deal with deadly gun violence.
Funeral Arrangements
Fitzgerald was a married father of at least four children. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff in Fitzgerald's honor.
His widow, Marissa Fitzgerald, said she is trying to stay strong for their children. "Their dad is a hero and he is our greatest hero,” she told NBC10's Karen Hua.
Funeral arrangements for Officer Fitzgerald will start on Thursday, Feb. 23 with a viewing from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at John F. Givnish Funeral Home at 10975 Academy Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia.
Another viewing will be held on Friday, Feb 24 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul at 1723 Race Street in Center City. The funeral service will begin around 11:30 a.m.
Immediately following the service will be the burial at Forest Hills Cemetery at 101 Byberry Rd. in Huntingdon Valley.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
