Slain Temple police officer was supposed to pickup son the night he was shot, mother says

PHILADELPHIA - Slain Temple University police officer Chris Fitzgerald was supposed to pick up his 7-year-old son the night he was shot and killed, the child's mother told FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson. 

Officer Fitzgerald, 31, was fatally shot during a struggle with a suspect Saturday night on the 1700 block of Montgomery Avenue. Less than 24-hours later, authorities tracked down Officer Fitzgerald's alleged killed, 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer, at his mother's house in Buckingham Township. 

Officer Fitzgerald leaves behind a wife and five children, including his 7-year-old namesake Christopher. Jessica Ocasio, the child's mother, said Fitzgerald was supposed to pickup Christopher on Saturdays for his usual weekend stay with his father. 

"He was ready for his dad to come pick him up on Saturday, he goes with him on the weekends," Jessica said. Instead, she has had the tragic challenge of telling her son that his father was killed. 

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"We're talking to him a lot, and we're letting him know ‘do you know what happened to daddy?’ He says ‘yes daddy was a hero, and it was time for him to go with God.’ So I make sure I keep reminding him that," Jessica told FOX 29.

She said it was important to Fitzgerald that young Christopher shared his full name. 

"He wanted him to be his namesake," Jessica said. "So has his father's full name, Christopher David Fitzgerald Jr., and now I'm really proud that he has that name."

The similarities between Fitzgerald and his young son aren't only in their first names: He also wants to be a police officer. Christopher remembered his father as a fun dad who "always would give me tickles."

"He's a superhero," Christopher said. "He's also an angel." 

Officer Fitzgerald will be laid to rest Friday morning at The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Race Street. The funeral service will immediately follow the second view and internment will be held at Forest Hills Cemetery.