Viewing held for Philadelphia 12-year-old killed in officer-involved shooting
Viewing held for Philadelphia 12-year-old killed in officer-involved shooting
A viewing was held Wednesday for 12-year-old Thomas Siderio, who was killed during an officer-involved shooting last week in Philadelphia. The officer who allegedly fired the fatal shot will be dismissed as the investigation continues.
PHILADELPHIA - A viewing was held Wednesday night for a 12-year-old boy who investigators say was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer after their car was fired on.
Family and loved ones of Thomas Siderio gathered at Lighthouse Baptist Church on South Broad Street to mourn his death that happened a week ago in South Philadelphia.
Investigators say four plain-clothed officers assigned to the South Task Force were in the area in an unmarked car as part of an ongoing investigation.
Authorities have said the officers saw Siderio and a 17-year-old boy on the corner of 18th and Barbara and recognized one of them as someone wanted for questioning in another investigation.
Police say the officers were approaching the boys and activated their emergency lights when they heard gunfire and a bullet shattered the rear passenger window and came to a stop in the passenger headrest. An officer in the back seat suffered injuries from the shattered glass to his face and eyes. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw says the shot is believed to have been fired by Siderio.
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"The evidence collected thus far that it was Thomas Siderio who discharged the firearm into the police vehicle," Outlaw said Tuesday.
Police say two officers then got out of the vehicle and discharged their firearms once each. One of those officers then took cover as the other officer – identified by investigations as Officer #1 - continued to chase Siderio on foot. Officer #1 is said to have fired two additional shots, striking Siderio once in the upper side of his back.
Siderio was rushed to the hospital by police, but he later died.
Outlaw declined to directly answer whether Siderio was still armed when he was shot on Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation. A stolen 9mm handgun equipped with a laser sight was recovered from the scene following the incident. Sources with knowledge of the investigation tell FOX 29 video footage of the incident appeared to show Siderio did not have a gun when he was shot.
Philadelphia officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Thomas Siderio to be dismissed
The Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed Thomas Siderio, 12, will be suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss, Commissioner Outlaw announced. Police say Siderio fired a single shot into an unmarked police vehicle prior to the shooting.
The officer accused of firing the fatal shot that killed Siderio will be suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss, Outlaw announced during a briefing Tuesday. Outlaw said the officer violated the department’s use of force directive.
"This is one of the fastest firings of a police officer post-shooting that I have seen in my career," Attorney Andrew Duffy, who is representing Siderio's mother, told FOX 29.
Duffy said his team has not yet seen the evidence in this case, but they plan to file a lawsuit soon and begin their investigation.
"We have promised this mother we will find out what happened to her son," Duffy said. "It's just unimaginable and unspeakable to her that her 12 yo boy will no longer be with her."
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