UPDATED: Oct. 14, 5:29 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed Thursday night in a Philadelphia International Airport parking garage. His partner was wounded, but is now out of the hospital.
Investigators said they were reporting for the start of their airport duty shift around 11 p.m. Thursday when they heard glass shattering and saw a group of people trying to break into a car in the Terminal D garage. One officer was in full uniform and the other was in partial uniform.
“The officers approached to essentially interrupt or disrupt and investigate what was going on,” interim Police Commissioner John Stanford told reporters early Friday morning. “At that point, the suspects opened fire on the officers.”
Investigators are not sure if the two officers were able to fire back in the moment, but they did say Mendez's gun was missing.
Officer Richard Mendez, 50, was hit several times in the upper torso. He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died. The other officer, Raul Ortiz, 60, was hit in the arm. He was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon.
The group of what police say could be 3-4 people got away in a dark Dodge Durango, which police say was reported stolen last week in South Philly.
Police said a person possibly connected to the shooting was taken to CHOP around the same time Mendez was brought to Penn Presbyterian in what they believe was the stolen car from earlier. That person, later identified as 18-year-old Jesús Hernán Madera Durán, died.
During the search for the Durango, police say they got in contact with the owner and discovered an AirTag connected to it. They tapped into the AirTag and tracked it to I-95 near Academy Road. Police say they spent the day searching for it, as well as other evidence, but wouldn’t get into what they found.
Police say they located the stolen car around 1:30 a.m. Friday when officers in South Brunswick, New Jersey, responded to a vehicle fire. Upon arriving at the scene, they found the Durango in flames.
Officials say Mendez was a father, husband, and 22-year veteran of the force who was just three days shy of reaching 23 years. Ortiz has served for 20 years.
Dozens of police officers escorted an ambulance carrying Mendez to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of the police administration building.
Stanford said this is a “numb moment” for the department. “We just had three officers shot last week and then this tonight, so you can imagine what we feel,” he said.
“Anger, devastation and heartbreak are the emotions,” he also wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “One officer gave his life tonight and one is recovering. Please wrap your arms and prayers around their families and our department. We will continue our search for those responsible and won’t stop until all are in custody!”
The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 as well as the Delco FOP Lodge 27 are offering a nearly $185,000 reward for information on the suspects. People are asked to call 911 or 215-686-TIPS.
"We're thankful for today's release of our hero officer, Raul Ortiz, and hopeful that he'll make a full recovery," said Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 President John McNesby on Saturday.
"Like Officer Ortiz, we’re all mourning the loss and death of our colleague and friend, Officer Richard Mendez. We pray and offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fellow Philadelphia police officers."
Councilmember Quetcy Lozada worked closely with Officers Mendez and Ortiz during their time serving in the 25th Police District. "These officers helped shape my philosophy on what community policing should look like," she said in a statement.
"I personally am feeling this loss very deeply, as are so many people in the Philadelphia police community and the people who they protected and served."
In a separate statement, District Attorney Larry Krasner condemned current gun laws that he said are holding authorities back as they try to find the shooter or shooters.
“Police go to work every day knowing they could at any moment encounter someone who has no business holding a gun, has a gun anyway, and is willing to fire upon others for no reason at all,” he wrote.
Mayor Jim Kenney, who spoke to reporters during a fire prevention event Friday morning, said it's insane that people have access to guns like that and that people do the things that they do with such disregard for human life.
“We lost a brave long-term police officer whose family I couldn’t describe the stress that they were under,” he said.