An 18-year-old man was busted Sunday within the fatal shooting of a Temple University cop — because it surfaced the heinous killer tried to rob the tragic officer as he lay dying on the bottom, police said.
Gunman Miles Pfeffer — who was taken into custody by authorities using the fallen officer’s handcuffs — went on to coolly commit a close-by carjacking in Philadelphia after the shooting, too, authorities said.
Pfeffer was arrested after multiple agencies, including federal marshals, converged on his home in Buckingham Township in Bucks County around 7 a.m., the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.
He had been wanted for the cold-blooded slaying of school cop and married dad of 4 Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, who was shot in the top around 7 p.m. Saturday while responding to an incident near Temple’s campus, in response to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Fitzgerald was later pronounced dead on the hospital. He’s the primary Temple officer to die in the road of duty, the varsity said.
Pfeffer is facing charges of murder, murder of a law-enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and illegal weapons possession within the case, the DA’s office said.
The suspect was so heartless that he tried to rob Fitzgerald because the cop laid on the bottom after the shooting, DA Larry Krasner said in an announcement.
“Pfeffer can also be alleged to have attempted to rob Officer Fitzgerald of his gun and to have undergone his pockets, while the officer was laying on the bottom and fatally wounded,” Krasner said Sunday.
“Pfeffer is further alleged to have committed a carjacking a short while after, near the situation of the officer’s murder.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Saturday night that the officer was killed when he tried to stop a carjacking. The university said in an announcement shortly after the shooting that Fitzgerald was responding to a robbery at a convenience store. Police haven’t confirmed that account, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The fallen cop was heard over police radio stating he was chasing down suspects, but by the point other Temple officers responded to the scene, they found Fitzgerald with multiple gunshot wounds to his face and upper body, the Inquirer said.
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Pfeffer was allegedly involved in a later armed carjacking of an Infiniti Q60 a couple of block from where Fitzgerald was found, in response to video obtained by authorities, the newspaper said. The accused gunman allegedly had a juvenile record in Bucks County.
Fitzgerald had been with the university police department since October 2021. He was a married father of 4, the varsity said.
“Officer Fitzgerald gave his life to selflessly serve and defend this community,” Jennifer Griffin, the university’s vp for public safety, said in an announcement.
“This loss leaves an infinite hole in all of our hearts. He was a father, a husband, a son, a colleague, and a friend.”
University President Jason Wingard called the shooting “a gut-wrenching reminder of our cops’ every day bravery and sacrifices to guard our students, faculty, staff and community” against “an unprecedented epidemic of violence.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he and first lady Lori were “devastated for the family of the Temple University police officer who was killed in the road of duty tonight, bravely serving his community.
“We’re sending prayers to his family members, Temple Police, and the complete @TempleUniv community,” Shapiro said in a tweet. “May his memory be a blessing.”
With Post wires
