April 07, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
A 75-year-old man was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer on Tuesday morning.
A 75-year-old man was fatally shot by police in West Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.
Just after 7 a.m., two officers responded to a call for a person who was carrying a weapon on the 5400 block of Webster Street. When they arrived to the scene, they encountered the man, who police identified as Anthony McKinley, standing on a porch with a firearm.
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After the officers exited their vehicle, a “confrontation” quickly broke out during which McKinley raised a handgun in their direction, police said. Officers took cover and ordered the man to put down his weapon before the man discharged one round from his weapon.
Officials said McKinley was struck one time by one of the officers and was immediately taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 7:33 a.m.
Other people were on the property at the time of the shooting, Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said Tuesday morning, but there were no injuries reported to anyone else.
The officer’s body camera was activated during the shooting and captured portions of the encounter, police said Tuesday evening. The 75-year-old's firearm was also recovered at the scene.
The officer, identified as Laura Pelczar, 26, has three years of experience on the force and will be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation, said Jasmine Colón-Reilly, of the department’s Public Affairs Office.
