Black Man Arrested for Killing Philadelphia Police Officer Says He Targeted Victim for Being White: Report

A black man named Eric Lewis allegedly shot and killed a Philadelphia police officer and injured another because they were white on Saturday, a report shows.

Eric Lewis

The now-deceased officer, Shane Seiber, and his partner had arrived at a West Philadelphia home in response to a neighbor’s 12:50 a.m. 911 call regarding a man spotted with a gun when Lewis walked up behind the officers, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The officers asked Lewis if he lived in the house, but were met with hostility as Lewis began yelling and acting aggressively. Then, as the officers moved to check if Lewis was carrying a firearm, the man allegedly shot the officers, a law enforcement source told the Inquirer.

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Seiber, who had 10 years of service as an officer, died at the age of 40 hours later after having been shot three times. He left behind his wife, a seven-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter, the Inquirer reported.

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Lewis said that he had been across the street when he saw the officers arrive and that he had shot them after they had put their hands on him. He said that he had only done so because they were white, the report said.

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