Philadelphia officer shot and killed while serving warrant

Mar 13, 2020 | 6:34 AM

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed early Friday as he served a homicide warrant at a home.

Cpl. James O’Connor, 46, was shot around 5:45 a.m. in the city’s Frankford section, officials said. He was shot in the shoulder above his bulletproof vest when officers entered the home, and two people in the home were wounded by return fire from another officer, officials said.

He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The two wounded people were stable, authorities said. Authorities said their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. Their names were not released.

Several people were arrested, including the subject of the warrant. That person was not wounded, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.

A married father of two, including a son who also serves on the force, O’Connor had been a police officer for 23 years and was with the SWAT unit for 15 years. His daughter serves in the U.S. Air Force.

“There’s not a word that you can put on the level of emotion that’s being felt right now,” Outlaw said during a news conference outside the hospital. “As expected, it’s a whirlwind of emotions. These are people that leave their families, their loved ones, during holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, to protect complete strangers and to do work that’s a calling. These people are led to serve.”

The Associated Press