What we know about Miles Pfeffer, teen charged with killing Temple University police officer
Law enforcement sources tell Action News that Miles Pfeffer had a previous run-in with the law in Bucks County.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- We are learning more about Miles Pfeffer, the 18-year-old from Bucks County who is charged with killing Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald on Saturday night.
Pfeffer is charged with murder and is being held in Philadelphia's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility without bail.
OFC. FITZGERALD SHOT
According to court records obtained by Action News, Officer Fitzgerald was initially responding to reports of a robbery near 17th Street and West Montgomery Avenue around 7 p.m. Saturday when he first encountered Pfeffer.
That's when Pfeffer allegedly shot Officer Fitzgerald.
SEE ALSO: Family, friends mourn loss of Temple officer killed in the line of duty
After the shooting, authorities say Pfeffer stood over the officer and shot him several more times in the head while he was on the ground.
Pfeffer is also accused of trying to rob Officer Fitzgerald of his service weapon but was unsuccessful.
Officer Fitzgerald was 31 years old. Along with his parents and wife, he leaves behind his four children.
TRACKING PFEFFER'S MOVEMENTS
Shortly after the shooting, Pfeffer then allegedly committed a carjacking. Audio of that incident was captured on surveillance video.
"Get out of the car. Give me the keys, give me the keys. I'll kill you, swear to God," the suspect is heard saying.
In fact, authorities say surveillance videos helped them track Pfeffer's movements after the shooting.
The car he allegedly stole was found at North 30th Street and Sedgley Avenue.
Then, authorities say Pfeffer made his way almost an hour away to his family farm in Buckingham Township.
That's where he was arrested shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday.
Sources say Pfeffer told investigators he melted the gun used to shoot Fitzgerald. Chopper 6 was above as police searched a fire pit on the farm.
SOURCE: PFEFFER CHARGED FOR BOMB THREAT
Law enforcement sources tell Action News that Pfeffer had a previous run-in with the law in Bucks County. As a juvenile, he was arrested and charged with Terroristic Threats related to a bomb threat at Central Bucks South High School in 2021, sources said.
The Bucks County District Attorney's office would not confirm that on Monday, telling Action News it had no comment.
The Central Bucks School District says Pfeffer was a student in the district until September of 2019, which would've likely been his freshman year.
Where he went to school afterward is unclear. While his mother lived on the Bucks County farm, Pfeffer's father lived on the 2900 block of Ridge Avenue in Strawberry Mansion, which may explain Pfeffer's travels in Philadelphia.
Pfeffer has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 7.
'A TROUBLED KID'
A childhood friend of Pfeffer's who spoke with Action News on Monday described him as troubled and scary.
"I did not expect it. I was shocked he was capable of something like this," said Makayla McLaughlin, a senior at Central Bucks East.
McLaughlin said she and Pfeffer attended the same middle school.
She said Pfeffer would often divide his time between Buckingham Township, where his mother lived, and Philadelphia, with his father.
But even at a young age, she said there were problems.
"Definitely a troubled kid. He had been suspended a couple times, expelled in 9th grade. He is definitely very well known In Doylestown for hanging out with a rough group," she said.
