Suspect busted for shooting Temple University cop: officials

An 18-year-old man was busted Sunday in the fatal shooting of a Temple University cop — as it surfaced the heinous killer tried to rob the tragic officer as he lay dying on the ground, police said.

Gunman Miles Pfeffer — who was taken into custody by authorities using the fallen officer’s handcuffs — went on to coolly commit a nearby 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 college cop and married dad of four Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, who was shot in the head around 7 p.m. Saturday while responding to an incident near Temple’s campus, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

Fitzgerald was later pronounced dead at the hospital. He is the first Temple officer to die in the line of duty, the school said.

Pfeffer is facing charges of murder, murder of a law-enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and illegal weapons possession in the case, the DA’s office said.

The suspect was so heartless that he tried to rob Fitzgerald as the cop laid on the ground after the shooting, DA Larry Krasner said in a statement.

“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,” Krasner said Sunday.

“Pfeffer is further alleged to have committed a carjacking a short time after, close to the location 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 a statement shortly after the shooting that Fitzgerald was responding to a robbery at a convenience store. Police have not confirmed that account, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The fallen cop was heard over police radio stating he was chasing down suspects, but by the time other Temple officers responded to the scene, they found Fitzgerald with multiple gunshot wounds to his face and upper body, the Inquirer said.

Pfeffer was allegedly involved in a later armed carjacking of an Infiniti Q60 about a block from where Fitzgerald was found, according 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 four, the school said.

“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.”

University President Jason Wingard called the shooting “a gut-wrenching reminder of our police officers’ daily bravery and sacrifices to protect 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 line of duty tonight, bravely serving his community.

“We’re sending prayers to his loved ones, Temple Police, and the entire @TempleUniv community,” Shapiro said in a tweet. “May his memory be a blessing.”

With Post wires