2 more men charged in death of Philadelphia SWAT sergeant

WPVI logo
Saturday, April 18, 2020
2 more charged in Philadelphia officer's death
Two more people have been charged in the killing of Philadelphia Cpl. James O'Connor.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Two more men have been charged in connection to the shooting death of a Philadelphia police SWAT

Sgt. James O'Connor IV was shot and killed in Frankford last month while trying to serve a warrant.

O'Connor was posthumously promoted from corporal to sergeant after his death.

RELATED: Family of slain Philadelphia officer speaks out in exclusive interview

Police have charged 18-year-old Khalif Sears and 19-year-old Bilal Mitchell with seven counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and conspiracy.

Police said the 46-year-old O'Connor was serving a murder warrant on the 1600 block of Bridge Street on March 13.

Inside the second-floor apartment were four men, including the subject of the warrant, Hassan Elliot, and Kaleif Sears, who was wanted in the same murder from 2019.

Officers entered the property and were met with gunfire from a closed-door on the second floor.

According to the district attorney's office, Elliott, Sears, Bilal Mitchell and Sherman Easterling were in a bedroom of the second floor when shots were fired from behind the walls and closed door of the home. The shots were fired before officers were able to enter the residence. Corporal O'Connor was in the line of fire and fatally wounded by those shots.

Authorities said Elliot fired the bullets that killed O'Connor. He was charged and arrested last month.

RELATED: Philadelphia DA announces murder charges in killing of police corporal