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Friday, October 23, 2026

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Philadelphia · Friday, October 23, 2026

Federal grand jury indicts Eric Lewis in an officer's killing

The File desk · Oct. 23, 2026, 7:00 a.m. ET

Confirmed1 primary sources

Status

Confirmed from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. The charges are allegations. The release calls Shane Seiber an officer. A quote from the police commissioner calls him a sergeant.
  • Confirmed
    Prosecutors announced a five-count indictment of Eric Lewis, 35, in the Oct. 10, 2026 shooting.
  • Confirmed
    The release says Officer Shane Seiber was killed and Officer Hector Rodriguez III was wounded. Commissioner Kevin Bethel's quote says Sergeant Shane Seiber.
Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia on Thursday announced a five-count indictment of Eric Lewis, 35, in the Oct. 10 shooting that killed Police Officer Shane Seiber and seriously wounded his partner, Officer Hector Rodriguez III. The charges are allegations.13
The indictment charges , , possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, theft of a firearm that moved in interstate commerce, and possession of a stolen firearm and stolen ammunition. The release says Lewis had a loaded privately made 9mm pistol and a loaded 12-gauge short-barreled shotgun, shot both officers, and took a department-issued Glock 17 from the wounded Officer Rodriguez.1
If convicted, the release says, he faces a maximum of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 10 years. The headline and the narrative call Shane Seiber an officer. Commissioner Kevin Bethel's quote calls him Sergeant Shane Seiber. This story uses the release's word, officer, and records the commissioner's word here.2
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. A federal case can add a mandatory prison term beside whatever a state court does. For the family of an officer killed on Oct. 10, and for his wounded partner, the indictment is the federal government naming the man it accuses. The charges are allegations, and the release does not say when Lewis will next be in court.
The release gives no court date, no defense lawyer, and no account of any separate state case. The concrete detail it does give is the gun taken from the wounded officer: a department-issued Glock 17.1
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, “City Man Charged in Connection With Fatal Shooting of Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber, Wounding of Officer Hector Rodriguez III,” Thursday, October 22, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/city-man-charged-connection-fatal-shooting-philadelphia-police-officer-shane-seiber “United States Attorney David Metcalf announced the indictment of Eric Lewis, 35, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on charges arising from the ambush shooting this month that killed Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber and seriously wounded his partner.” Charges: “, , possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, theft of a firearm that has moved in interstate commerce, and possession of a stolen firearm and stolen ammunition.” “Lewis, who was in possession of a loaded 9mm semiautomatic, privately manufactured firearm (‘ghost gun’) and a loaded 12-gauge short-barreled shotgun, shot Officers Seiber and Rodriguez, then took a PPD-issued Glock 17 9mm handgun from the wounded Officer Rodriguez.” “If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum term of 10 years’ imprisonment.” The night of the shooting is “October 10, 2026.”
  2. 2.Same release. Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel: “From the morning we lost Sergeant Shane Seiber, and Officer Hector Rodriguez suffered devastating injuries.” The headline and the prosecutors' narrative say Officer Shane Seiber. This story uses officer, and footnotes the sergeant wording.
  3. 3.Charges are allegations; defendants are presumed innocent.

What is still unknown or disputed

  • Any court date. Not in the release.
  • Any defense lawyer. Not in the release.
  • Whether a state case is also pending. Not in the release, so this story does not say so.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    City man charged in the fatal shooting of Officer Shane Seiber

    U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania · October 22, 2026

    Prosecutors announced the indictment of Eric Lewis, 35, in the shooting that killed Officer Shane Seiber and wounded Officer Hector Rodriguez III. The charges are accusations.

    https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/city-man-charged-connection-fatal-shooting-philadelphia-police-officer-shane-seiber

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