Tearful widow of Temple University officer ‘shot dead by 18-year-old’ reveals his final words to her

The tearful widow of the Temple University officer who was shot and killed while patrolling the streets of Philadelphia over the weekend said he kissed her goodbye, told her he loved her and said he’d be right back. 

But Christopher Fitzgerald never came back. He was gunned down in the line of duty on Saturday night.

Fitzgerald’s widow Marissa was out running errands when got the call he had been shot. She sobbed as she recalled his final words to her, adding that his four young children will miss their father so much and that he will always be ‘our greatest hero.’

Officer Fitzgerald was doing the job that he loved and serving his community to make it a better place, his family said, when he was shot in the head along Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia.

Miles Pfeffer, 18, was arrested at his Philadelphia home on Sunday morning in connection to the shooting. He was arraigned on murder charges on Monday and is being held on bail.

Marissa Fitzgerald, the widow of Temple University officer Christopher Fitzgerald, who was shot and killed while patrolling the streets of Philadelphia recalled his final words to him

Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, was gunned down on Saturday night allegedly by 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer, 18, who was arraigned on a slew of charges

The slain cop’s family sat down for an interview with NBC10’s Karen Hua. 

‘He gave me a kiss and he told me that he loved me. And, I said ‘I love you too.’ And when he walked out the door, he said he’d be right back,’ Marissa said. ‘He said, ‘I’ll be right back babe.’

Fitzgerald took on the fateful extra shift on Saturday and but before he left home, he promised he would he would take his family out for breakfast Sunday morning. The officer leaves behind four children between the ages of 7 and 13.

‘My kids will always know who their dad is,’ Marissa said. ‘Their dad is a hero and he is our greatest hero.’

His youngest daughter, his ‘princess,’ was curled up with her grandfather during the interview, her eyes red from crying.  

‘They miss their dad so much,’ she said, after describing Fitzgerald was a goofball who loved his children.

Marissa added: ‘I am going to try to be as strong as I can be because I know that’s what he wanted. I’m going to make sure that they know who their dad was. They already know. He’s the greatest hero we could ever have.’ 

Fitzgerald took on the fateful extra shift on Saturday and but before he left home, he promised he would he would take his family out for breakfast Sunday morning. The officer leaves behind four children between the ages of 7 and 13

Video footage by Action News captured Fitzgerald’s final moments doing what he loved – serving and protecting the community

Marissa and his father Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr. also talked about Fitzgerald’s legacy and that he died doing what he loved. 

‘He really wanted to make a change for the city so that people could be safe and that the kids could be safe,’ Marissa said. ‘My husband was not a bad person, he was such a good man and a good cop.. awesome cop.’

His father, who is also in law enforcement, is calling for justice. 

‘He wanted to do it because he knew that was his method of giving back to our community,’ Joel Fitzgerald said.

He added: ‘Chris was adamant that he could stay in Philadelphia and facilitate change. Although we’re devastated, we could never be more proud.’ 

Marissa then delivered a message for her husband’s suspected killer.

‘He took a family man, he took a father, he took a son, he took a brother, he took a nephew, you took so much,’ she said. ‘Our lives will never be the same.’

‘You had no right, you are a coward, you are evil, I know what you did to my husband, you shouldn’t even be allowed to breathe because my husband is not breathing, but you get to have air flowing through your lungs,’ she said.

‘I hope that he’s haunted for the rest of his life, I hope he rots in a cell.’

Pfeffer, who faces a slew of charges, is also accused of carjacking a driver and ditching the car in another part of Philadelphia after the shooting. He then got a ride from his mother to the family’s home where he was later arrested. 

‘Your mother who picked you up should be charged … we will make sure that we have justice,’ Marissa said.

Miles Pfeffer, 18, was arrested on Sunday after he was accused of fatally shooting  Temple University officer Chris Fitzgerald, 31, in the head 

Miles Pfeffer, 18, is accused of shooting Temple University cop Chris Fitzgerald, 31, multiple times before going through his pockets and trying to steal his gun

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Chris Fitzgerald (pictured) is the son of Joel Fitzgerald, who was the police chief in Allenstown for two years from 2013. He was a father of four children

Less than 12 hours after the shooting, police arrested Pfeffer at his family’s home in Buckingham Township – an affluent rural area north of Philadelphia.

He was placed in Fitzgerald’s handcuffs as part of a tradition to honor fallen police officers, according to the US Marshals.

Pfeffer faces charges of murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and weapons crimes in the death of Officer Fitzgerald, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.