STATE
Officers mourn death of colleague
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are mourning the death of an officer who was shot in the head and killed after he and his partner exchanged gunfire with two suspects trying to rob a video game store.
Police said Thursday the slain officer, Robert Wilson III, fired back even as he was being shot by suspects on either side of him. One was struck and taken to a hospital while the other was in custody.
“The entire department is in shock and is in mourning,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
It was not immediately clear if Wilson was wearing a body camera when he was shot at 4:44 p.m. Thursday, but authorities did seize video from store security cameras. He was shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m. at Temple University Hospital.
Cruiser smashes into veterinary clinic
SPRINGDALE — Police say an officer lost control of his police cruiser on a slippery road before crashing through the wall of a veterinary clinic.
Springdale borough Police Chief Julio Medeiros says the officer from neighboring Springdale Township was responding to a call when he crashed about 1 a.m. Thursday. Police didn’t immediately describe the call or give the officer’s name.
The officer had to be cut out of his vehicle, but was not hurt.
Kim Linkenheimer, owner of the River Valley Veterinary Hospital, says she’ll be open and will cover the hole with a tarp in the meantime.
Mercyhurst police now carrying guns
ERIE — Police at Mercyhurst University are now carrying guns in response to an uptick in gun violence in Erie and the suicide of a non-student who shot himself on campus.
Mercyhurst Police Chief Robert Kuhn said that arming the officers on the school’s Erie and North East campuses won’t change the way they do their jobs and won’t be an adjustment for most officers because several carried guns as officers when they worked elsewhere.
The policy took effect Monday, but students and employees were notified by e-mail last week.
The officers had background checks and psychological evaluations before being armed.
Officers will have firearms training four times a year.
The private, Catholic, liberal arts school has a 15-member police force and about 4,000 students on all campuses.
