The tearful widow of the Temple University officer who was shot and killed while patrolling the streets of Philadelphia over the weekend said he kissed her goodbye, told her he loved her and would be right back.
But Christopher Fitzgerald never came back. He was shot in the line of duty on him Saturday night.
Fitzgerald’s widow, Marissa, was running errands when she received the call that she had been shot. She sobbed as she remembered her last words to her, adding that their four young children will miss their father dearly and he will always be ‘our biggest hero’.
Officer Fitzgerald was doing the job he loved and serving his community to make it a better place, his family said, when he was shot in the head along Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, was arrested at his Philadelphia home Sunday morning in connection with the shooting. He was arraigned on murder charges Monday and is being held on bail.
Marissa Fitzgerald, the widow of Temple University officer Christopher Fitzgerald, who was shot and killed while patrolling the streets of Philadelphia, recalled his last words.
Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, was fatally shot Saturday night allegedly by 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer, who was arraigned on a series of charges.
The family of the murdered policeman sat down for an interview with NBC10’s Karen Hua.
He kissed me and told me he loved me. And I said ‘I love you too’. And when she walked out the door, she said she’d be right back,” Marissa said. ‘He said, ‘I’ll be right back, baby.’
Fitzgerald took the fateful extra shift on Saturday, and before leaving home, he promised to take his family out for breakfast Sunday morning. The officer leaves behind four children between the ages of 7 and 13.
‘My kids will always know who their daddy is,’ said Marissa. ‘His father of his is a hero and he is our greatest hero.’
His youngest daughter, his ‘princess’, was snuggled up to her grandfather during the interview, her eyes red from crying.
“They miss their father so much,” he said, after describing Fitzgerald as a fool who loved his children.
Marissa added: “I’m going to try to be as strong as possible because I know that’s what he wanted.” I’ll make sure they know who her father was. They already know. He is the greatest hero we could have.
Fitzgerald took the fateful extra shift on Saturday, and before leaving home, he promised to take his family out for breakfast Sunday morning. The officer leaves behind four children between the ages of 7 and 13.
Action News video footage captured the last moments of Fitzgerald doing what he loved: serving and protecting the community.
Marissa and her father, Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr., also spoke about Fitzgerald’s legacy and that he died doing what he loved.
“I really wanted to make a change in the city so that people can be safe and children can be safe,” Marissa said. “My husband wasn’t a bad person, he was a good man and a good cop…an amazing cop.”
His father, who is also a policeman, calls for justice.
“I wanted to do it because I knew that was his method of giving back to our community,” Joel Fitzgerald said.
He added: ‘Chris was adamant that he could stay in Philly and facilitate the trade. Although we are devastated, we could never be more proud.
Marissa then delivered a message for her husband’s suspected killer.
“It took a family man, it took a father, it took a son, it took a brother, it took a nephew, you took so much,” he said. Our lives will never be the same again.
‘You had no right, you are a coward, you are evil, I know what you did to my husband, you shouldn’t even let yourself breathe because my husband is not breathing, but you get to have air flowing through your lungs,’ she said.
‘I hope he’s haunted for the rest of his life, I hope he rots in a cell.’
Pfeffer, who faces a series of charges, is also accused of robbing a driver and abandoning the car in another part of Philadelphia after the shooting. His mother then took him to the family home, where he was later arrested.
“Your mother, who picked you up, needs to be charged…we’ll make sure justice is done,” Marissa said.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, was arrested Sunday after being accused of fatally shooting Temple University officer Chris Fitzgerald, 31, in the head.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, is accused of shooting multiple times at Temple University police officer Chris Fitzgerald, 31, before going through his pockets and attempting to steal his gun.
Chris Fitzgerald (pictured) is the son of Joel Fitzgerald, who was police chief in Allenstown for two years beginning in 2013. He was the father of four children.
Less than 12 hours after the shooting, police arrested Pfeffer at his family’s home in Buckingham Township, an affluent rural area north of Philadelphia.
He was handcuffed by Fitzgerald as part of a tradition to honor fallen police officers, according to US Marshals.
Pfeffer faces charges of murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and weapons offenses in the death of Officer Fitzgerald, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.
