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A veteran Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed with an assault weapon after a bank robbery in lower Northeast Philadelphia on Saturday, authorities say.
Sergeant Steven Liczbinski (above), 40, suffered a fatal gunshot wound while chasing down the robbery suspects along the 2600 block of Schiller Street in Port Richmond at about 11:45am.
A second person at the scene, allegedly a suspect, was also shot and killed. Two other suspects remain on the loose.
Officials say the robbery happened shortly before 11:30am at a bank inside the ShopRite along the 3500 block of Aramingo Avenue.
The suspects were chased to Schiller and Almond Streets where at least one of the men opened fire on Liczbinski.
Philadlephia police commissioner Charles Ramsey:
"It's my understanding that he was either in the car or had just gotten out of the car at the time he was struck."
Ramsey says Liczbinski was shot with a high-powered assault rifle, which penetrated his vest.
The suspect was chased to the 500 block of Louden Street where he was shot and killed by a police K-9 officer.
Authorities from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware are involved in a manhunt for the two suspects who fled the scene.
Ramsey says the officer was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead:
"When you first get the page, your heart just sinks. This is hard on all of us."
Liczbinski, a 12-year veteran of the force, had been promoted to sergeant with the 24th District in November 2007.
Mayor Michael Nutter says Liczbinski leaves behind a wife and three children:
"I ask that we rally around his family and wrap our arms around them. He has obviously paid the ultimate sacrifice in serving his fellow Philadelphians."
Nutter called for a 30-day period of mourning, during which all city flags will be lowered to half-mast. The mayor also called for the religious community to recognize Sunday as a day of peace to pray for Liczbinski and his family.
While many neighbors in Port Richmond tried in vain to assist the dying officer, they were overcome by what they saw and heard.
Witnesses say they heard several shots -- very loud shots. Police say Sgt. Liczbinski was shot with an assault rifle.
Thomas Carjewski was among many residents who rushed to aid the officer:
“One of the neighbors was screaming, “A police officer's been shot! They shot the cop!” I ran around the front of the officer's car and he was shot. All the neighbors came out and tried to put pressure on his chest. He was hit in the chest. He was hit in the abdomen. They put pressure on there. I ran in the house, grabbed a phone and called 911.”
This man says the shooting shattered the quiet of Schiller and Almond Streets:
"It was very loud. I was sitting there and you heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And I mean, it sounded like it was right in here. It was really loud, the shots. I have never heard nothing that loud."
Nancy Braun describes a scene of chaos. As people were screaming and crying, she tried to comfort the sergeant:
"I was holding his head and one other guy was standing there, he was holding his arm trying to stop the bleeding from that. Another officer was holding his stomach wound and, in like 20 seconds, he just said, 'Tell my wife I love her.'
One witness called it an execution. The sergeant’s gun was still in its holster.
