A Bucks County teen is charged with murder | Morning Newsletter
And a Philly debate team won big without a coach or a budget.
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The Morning Newsletter
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We’re in for cloudy skies and a chance of rain. Temps will reach the high-50s.
Today, we deliver the latest news on Saturday night’s deadly shooting of a Temple University police officer.
Officer Christopher Fitzgerald was known for trying to make the city he grew up in a better and safer place. As part of a running group designed to encourage young people to pursue a positive life path, Fitzgerald would carry the Stop the Violence banner.
His death is now what officials say is the first fatal shooting of a Temple campus police officer.
More information may unfold, but below is what we know.
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— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday, Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald was shot and killed during an altercation near the campus border while in pursuit of criminal suspects.
On Sunday morning, officers arrested 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer in Bucks County and charged him with murdering the father of four. Pfeffer is not eligible for bail.
What happened: Authorities said Pfeffer shot the 31-year-old officer and then tried to steal his gun and went through his pockets as Fitzgerald was lying on the ground. The incident is captured on video.
According to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Fitzgerald chased Pfeffer while investigating a possible crime near the campus border. It is unclear what led to the initial encounter. Shortly after Pfeffer allegedly shot Fitzgerald, he stole a man’s car at gunpoint, police said.
Two law enforcement sources told The Inquirer he was later picked up by his mother and driven back to Bucks County. Pfeffer’s brother was with him Friday night and helped police identify him, according to a police affidavit.
There’s a memorial of pictures, candles, and flowers near where Fitzgerald was killed at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue. Friends and colleagues described him as an officer that “cared about the community more than himself.”
The aftermath: The Temple community was reeling Sunday and officials said they have prepared grief counselors for when classes resume Monday. The Temple University Police Association launched a GoFundMe to help support Fitzgerald’s family.
Continue reading to learn how Fitzgerald consistently advocated to curb gun violence in the city.
What you should know today
The Temple University Police Association launched a GoFundMe for slain officer Christopher Fitzgerald.
A Philly-area man led a team of fossil-hunters that discovered a rare worm-like creature from 220 million years ago.
A national forest site is now named after a Black paratrooper from the Main Line who died in a secret mission.
An embroiled South Philadelphia cryptocurrency company is facing a crackdown from Montana financial regulators.
Penn State’s THON raised a record $15 million.
Home gyms and workout injuries rose during the pandemic. Learn how to set up a safe workout space.
Masterman’s debate team doesn’t have a budget or a coach but they still compete against well-funded suburban districts and pricy private schools.
The team just scored a big-stage national win this month. A pair of Masterman debaters, Henry Anastasi and Joshua Cohen, won the varsity public forum division at the 48th University of Pennsylvania Tournament which drew 120 high school debaters from 23 states.
The win was a big deal for the do-it-yourself team of about 20, whose four captains spent the early part of their school year just finding an adult to serve as a sponsor for the squad.
Coaches typically help with the extensive prep work required for public forum debate, but at Masterman, the students do the work, with captains compiling all research needed for their cases and providing guidance for the rest of the team.
Keep reading to learn how the self-coached and self-funded team climbed its way to victory.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Power forward Kevin Love will not sign with the Sixers after all.
Where is he headed instead?
A) Miami Heat
B) Cleveland Cavaliers
C) Milwaukee Bucks
D) Chicago Bulls
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
👓 Browsing: This eyewear collection made especially for Black women’s faces.
🕔 Reminding you: What’s open and closed today for President’s Day.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: Owner of the Phillies
DENIMDOLT JNHO
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Barbara Check, who correctly guessed Sunday’s answer: Candle on the Water. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
Here’s hoping we helped your week get off to a solid start ... or at minimum, an informative one. See you tomorrow, Philly. ☀️