Philadelphia man accused of killing officer admits targeting victims by race

Eric Lewis, a 35-year-old Philadelphia Water Department employee, is facing 76 charges, including murder, following an early Saturday morning ambush of police officers in West Philadelphia. During the attack, Lewis killed Officer Shane Seiber, a 40-year-old Air Force veteran, and critically wounded his partner, a 33-year-old father of five, who was hit 12 times.

According to arrest reports, Lewis admitted to investigators that he targeted the officers because they were white. He reportedly told a Black female officer that he would not have shot them if they had been Black.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner addressed why Lewis was at liberty despite a violent criminal history. Krasner revealed that a previous 2019 murder charge against Lewis was dismissed after a deficient investigation. The District Attorney’s Office stated that a rogue officer, who was secretly dating Lewis’ sister, allegedly fabricated a suspect to ‘torpedo’ the investigation, leading to Lewis' acquittal in a 2023 bench trial. The incident has prompted an internal affairs review into the officers involved in the prior case.