Delaware County community donates life-saving equipment to police after deadly tragedy
EAST LANSDOWNE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Earlier this year, a shooting and subsequent house fire in East Lansdowne, Delaware County left six family members dead and two police officers injured.
The people who died included three adults and three children. All of them were shot to death except for the youngest victim, just 10 years old, who died from smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner's report.
The incident happened back on February 7, when police were called to a home at 58 Lewis Avenue for reports of a child shot.
Officers quickly responded in an effort to rescue the injured child and were met with gunfire upon arrival.
Authorities say the suspect, 43-year-old Canh Le, went to the third floor of the home, where he began shooting at responding officers before the house went up in flames.
Le died in the incident, along with five family members: Xuong Le, and his wife, Britni McLaughlin-Le, as well as their three children, NaKayla, 13, NaTayla, 17, and Xavier, 10.
East Lansdowne Police Officer John Meehan and Lansdowne Police Officer David Schiazza were shot during the chaos.
"Stay with me. Gotta get him out of here," Upper Darby Police Officer Kerry Gregory could be heard saying on body cam video.
Thanks to his heroic actions and tourniquet, Gregory saved Meehan's life during that incident.
"The officer's wound was arterial. It was very grave," said East Lansdowne Acting Police Chief James Cadden. "It was life-threatening. He had only minutes to address it or he would have passed away."
Cadden said that the tragic day taught them important lessons.
He said that now, all officers are required to have tourniquets and undergo specialized training.
"We're grateful to the support of the community members, local residents, and businesses that stepped up to give us the funding for these devices," said Cadden.
Resident John Rossiter and Brothers Automotive and Collision donated 20 tourniquets and advanced first aid kits for each patrol vehicle.
"They put their lives on the line for us all the time, and if this is something that could save their life, there's no price on that," said Rossiter.
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"It's really important to support the people that will support you in your time of need," said Osman Osman.
The kind donations are serving those who protect and serve every day.
"Anything they need, we'll support them with, and they know we have their back 100%," said Rossiter.
"I can't say enough about this family and this business - an integral part of our community. It really reassures our hope, our belief, and our mission," said Cadden.
Cadden said the municipality purchased the land where the house once stood, and they plan to make it a memorial park to honor the family.
