The Philadelphia police officer who was with a SEPTA officer when they shot and killed a man on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway have been identified. The man who was killed has also been identified.
Officers with the Philadelphia Police Department and SEPTA police were called to the area of 21st Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Oct. 9 around 11 a.m. after it was reported that there was a man with a gun, officials said.
When the responding officers got to the scene, they reported finding a man identified as 60-year-old William Austin pointing a revolver in several directions and at police.
Officers said that at one point, Austin did put the gun on the ground but picked it back up a minute later and shot one round toward the ground.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, officer Eric Lee, 38, and a SEPTA police officer each fired one shot at Austin from their department-issued weapons.
Each of their shots hit Austin, police said. Austin was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
At the scene, detectives found a .357 revolver that had three live rounds and three fired casings.
This incident is under investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department’s Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Unit, the PPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Officer Lee is being assigned to administrative duty as the investigation continues, per department policy.
Police officials say that releasing the name of an officer is part of their department’s policy during ongoing officer-involved shooting investigations.
The Philadelphia Police Department says they will not be releasing the name of the SEPTA officer involved in this incident.
NBC10 reached out to SEPTA for comment, we are waiting to hear back.