The Philadelphia Police Department visited the memorial for slain Temple police officer Christopher Fitzgerald on Monday.
The 22nd precinct and the memorial are just a few steps away from where Officer Fitzgerald was shot and killed on Saturday.
The funeral for the late officer Fitzgerald will take place later this week.
Both senior prosecutors and even defence lawyers have referred to the married father of four’s slaying on Saturday night as a cold-blooded murder.
Fitzgerald was on patrol in the Temple University Police’s service area when according to arrest records, he came across two individuals. One of them was identified as Miles Pfeffer, and the other was his brother. The radio transmissions for an officer down screamed over police dispatch.
After a brief chase, there was a fight, and according to court records, Pfeffer then started shooting at officer Fitzgerald with a revolver. He got hit in the head and fell over.
According to the criminal complaint, Pfeffer continued shooting while standing over the police officer; various surveillance cameras recorded the whole crime.
Pfeffer is accused of searching through the officers’ pockets as they lay wounded on the ground. He is also accused of making an unsuccessful attempt to take Fitzgerald’s service weapon.
The culprit, according to police, then carjacked a male and fled the scene in a stolen car.
What is known about teenager Miles Pfeffer, who is accused of killing a Temple University police officer
According to Action news’ law enforcement sources, Miles Pfeffer previously had a run-in with the authorities in Bucks County.
The Bucks County, Pennsylvania, resident Miles Pfeffer, 18, is accused of killing Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald on Saturday night.
Pfeffer is being jailed without bond in Philadelphia’s Curran-Fromhold Correctional Prison after being accused of murder.
How did Officer Fitzgerald died?
Around 7 p.m. on Saturday, Officer Fitzgerald first came across Pfeffer while responding to reports of a robbery near 17th Street and West Montgomery Avenue, according to court documents obtained by Action News.
Pfeffer is accused of shooting Officer Fitzgerald at that point.
Authorities claim that while the officer was on the ground after the gunshot, Pfeffer stood over him and repeatedly shot him in the head.
Pfeffer is also accused of making an unsuccessful attempt to steal Officer Fitzgerald’s service weapon.
Fitzgerald was a 31-year-old police officer. He leaves behind his four children, his wife, and his parents.
Pfeffer under surveillance
Pfeffer is then said to have allegedly committed a carjacking shortly after the incident. On security footage, that incident’s audio was recorded.
“Leave the vehicle. Please hand over the keys to me. I’ll murder you, by God! “It is heard the suspect saying.
In fact, according to the investigators, security footage was vital in tracing Pfeffer’s actions following the shooting.
At North 30th Street and Sedgley Avenue, the car he is accused of stealing was discovered.
Afterwards, according to the authorities, Pfeffer travelled nearly an hour away to his family property in Buckingham Township.
Shortly after 7 a.m. on Sunday, he was taken into custody there.
Apparently, Pfeffer admitted to melting the gun used to shoot Fitzgerald, according to sources. When police examined a fire pit on the site, Chopper 6 was overhead.
Pfeffer charged for bomb threat, according to sources
Action News has learned from law enforcement sources that Pfeffer previously had a run-in with the law in Bucks County. According to authorities, he was detained as a minor and charged with Terroristic Threats in connection with a bomb threat made at Central Bucks South High School in 2021.
On Monday, the Bucks County District Attorney’s office declined to corroborate that, telling Action News that it had nothing to add.
Pfeffer reportedly attended the Central Bucks School District up until September 2019, which would have been his freshman year.