Suspect arrested in slaying of university police officer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An man is facing murder and other charges in the death of a Temple University police officer shot and killed near campus Saturday night, authorities said.

The Philadelphia district attorney's office said 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer will face charges of murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and weapons crimes in the death of Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, who prosecutors said was shot in the head while responding to an incident near campus.

“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,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement Sunday. “Pfeffer is further alleged to have committed a carjacking a short time after, close to the location of the officer’s murder.”

The Bucks County district attorney's office said Pfeffer was taken into custody shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday at his Buckingham Township home by township and Philadelphia police as well as state police and federal marshals. “Police used the fallen officer’s handcuffs in placing the suspect under arrest,” county prosecutors said.

There was no immediate word on whether Pfeffer had an attorney; a number listed for his home was no longer in service.

Temple University officials 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.”