Philadelphia police officer killed in airport parking garage shooting

A Philadelphia police officer was killed, and another officer was injured while trying to stop a group of people breaking into a car in a parking garage shortly after their shifts began late Thursday night, police said.

It was just after 11 p.m. when the 50-year-old officer and the 60-year-old officer, both part of the department’s airport unit, arrived at a parking garage at Philadelphia International Airport. As the officers left their vehicles, they saw the attempted break-in taking place. One of the officers was in full uniform, while the other officer was partly in uniform, according to WCAU.

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As the officers approached, at least two people opened fire at them, the local outlet reported. The 50-year-old officer was hit multiple times in the upper torso, and his fellow officer was hit at least once in the arm. The officers were rushed to the hospital, and the former was transferred to another, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 11:30 p.m.

The name of the officer killed in the shooting has not yet been released, but he had worked on the force for 22 years, interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said. His family was at the hospital with him, “as you can imagine, heartbroken,” Stanford said, per the Associated Press. The 60-year-old officer, whose name was also withheld, is in stable condition.

Stanford was quick to note how the shooting came just a week after three officers were shot and wounded while answering a call. “A numb, numb moment for us to again encounter something like this. We just had three officers shot last week. And then this tonight, so you can imagine what we feel. We can imagine what this department is going through. And quite frankly, how the city should be feeling.”

Police said one or more of the shooters drove away from the scene in a black 2022 Dodge Durango, later determined to be stolen, with a license plate of “PLUSTAX,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. An 18-year-old man was dropped off by a car with a similar description at a nearby hospital shortly after the shooting, where he died. It is not yet clear whether he was involved.

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Philadelphia has come under scrutiny for the crime seen this year, along with other cities with Democratic mayors, such as Washington, D.C.

“Please wrap your arms and prayers around their families and our department,” Stanford posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday morning. “We will continue our search for those responsible and won’t stop until all are in custody!”