PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — An arrest has been made in connection to a shooting that killed a Philadelphia police officer and injured another last week in a Philadelphia International Airport parking garage, police said.
Police will provide more information during a 2:30 p.m. news conference on Monday, which can be streamed on CBS News Philadelphia and in the streaming player above.
The shooting happened around 11 p.m. last Thursday inside a parking garage at the airport.
According to police, Officers Richard Mendez and Raul Ortiz were shot after they confronted a group of car thieves in a parking garage at the airport.
Mendez was shot multiple times in his upper torso and later died at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, police said.
Ortiz was shot in the arm and was released from the hospital Saturday morning.
“A happy day to see him get out of the hospital, knowing that he’s on the road to recovery as far as his arm, but it’s really his mind and his heart that’s going to need some time to heal,” Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said.
Philadelphia Officer Eddie Lopez, president of the Spanish American Police Officers Association, said he knew Mendez for 21 years.
“This is a loss, not just for us,” Lopez said. “It’s a loss for you, the civilians of Philadelphia, to lose an officer who came in to work every day and did the job.”
Investigators found a stolen Black Dodge Charger in Kensington over the weekend. They believe the car is connected to the shooting.
The reward leading to an arrest and conviction was increased to $225,000 over the weekend.
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