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A Philadelphia police officer who survived being shot 12 times in an ambush that killed his partner was met with cheers over the weekend as he left the hospital to continue his recovery.
Officer Hector Rodriguez III was released from Penn Presbyterian Medical Center just over two weeks after the Oct. 10 attack that killed his partner, Officer Shane Seiber, and led to more than 70 criminal charges against suspect Eric Lewis.
Photos and video posted by the Philadelphia Police Department show Rodriguez sitting upright on a stretcher as he was wheeled through an entryway packed with cheering supporters before an ambulance carrying him pulled away.
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“This morning, we clapped P/O Hector Rodriguez out of Penn Presbyterian as he left to continue his recovery,” the Philadelphia Police Department wrote on X. “Thank you to his medical team and everyone who has supported Hector, his family and our PPD family. We’ll be beside him every step of the way!”
Rodriguez, 33, has served with the Philadelphia Police Department for nine years and has been assigned to the 19th District since December 2018.
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Rodriguez and Seiber were called to a residence in West Philadelphia at about 12:17 a.m. on Oct. 10 for a report of a man with a gun.
Police said the officers found a man on the porch before a struggle broke out and both were shot. Other officers arriving at the scene found Rodriguez and Seiber unresponsive on the porch and rushed them to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
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Seiber, 40, died from his injuries later that morning.
Additional gunfire followed the initial encounter, prompting police to declare a barricade before SWAT officers ultimately took Lewis, 35, into custody.
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Lewis, an employee of the Philadelphia Water Department, faces more than 70 criminal charges in connection with the attack, including murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and terroristic threats. He is being held without bail.
Lewis had been expected to appear in court Monday for a preliminary hearing, but the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office told Fox News that the hearing would be continued. A new date has not yet been set.
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Lewis also faces federal charges in connection with the shooting.
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He was indicted Thursday on charges of interstate commerce by robbery, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, theft of a firearm that has moved in interstate commerce, and possession of a stolen firearm and stolen ammunition.
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If convicted, the federal charges carry a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum of 10 years.
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“Under federal law, Eric Lewis is not allowed to possess a firearm. He is a convicted felon under federal law. He is certainly not allowed to steal a firearm, and under federal law, he is certainly prohibited from using any firearm to rob, shoot, and kill a police officer, as a result of those actions,” David Metcalf, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said when announcing the charges Thursday.
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“No one attacks law enforcement without facing the consequences,” Metcalf said.
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Seiber was an Air Force veteran who served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 10 years. He left behind his wife, a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.
Fox News’ CB Cotton and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
