Philly cop, 39, fatally shoots wife, 36, and himself

A Philadelphia police officer fatally shot his wife and himself Monday at his residence in Juniata Park, police said.

The off-duty 19th District officer, identified as Jose Rodriguez, 39, shot his 36-year-old wife several times before shooting himself in his home on the 4600 block of Weymouth Street, police said.

Neighbors and the wife’s relatives said at the scene that Rodriguez lived by himself. Her relatives said she had moved out about 10 years ago with their two children. They identified her as Ivelisse Rodriguez.

Police, who spelled her first name Evelyse, said she lived on the 6000 block of Tulip Street in Wissinoming.

The couple had a 17-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, police spokesperson Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Monday morning that police were called to the officer’s house after Rodriguez’s daughter had tried unsuccessfully to reach her father or mother by phone. Ross said police and Fire Department personnel who went to the house about 9:30 a.m. Monday found the officer and his wife dead with gunshot wounds.

“It’s very sad when we made entry,” Ross said. The wife’s body was found in the dining room. She had been shot several times.

Her husband, an 11-year veteran of the force, was found in the basement with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Their bodies were carried out after 4 p.m. Monday. Police said they were investigating the shootings.