Investigators say a 75-year-old man and an officer each fired one shot during a confrontation on Webster Street.
PHILADELPHIA — A 75-year-old man was killed Tuesday morning after an exchange of gunfire with a Philadelphia police officer in West Philadelphia, where officers had responded to a report of a person with a weapon, authorities said.
The shooting happened just after 7 a.m. on the 5400 block of Webster Street in the city’s Cobbs Creek section. Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said two officers arrived and found the man on a front porch holding a handgun. One officer got out of the patrol vehicle and approached him. A confrontation followed within moments, and shots were fired. The man was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 7:33 a.m. No officers or bystanders were reported hurt.
Vanore said investigators believe the man fired one shot and the female officer fired one shot, but he said police had not yet determined the precise sequence of events. “There’s a lot of work that has to be done before we know definitively what occurred,” Vanore said while briefing reporters near the taped-off block. Police said a gun was recovered at the scene, and the officers’ body cameras had been activated during the encounter. Investigators were also gathering witness statements and looking for video from the neighborhood.
By midmorning, police tape still blocked part of Webster Street as crime scene staff searched for evidence and documented the front porch where the shooting took place. News helicopters captured officers working the block around 7:30 a.m. Authorities said the officer who fired the fatal shot was not injured. NBC10 reported she is a three-year veteran of the department and has been placed on administrative duty while the investigation moves forward, a standard step after a police shooting.
The man had not been publicly identified by police by early afternoon. The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing neighbors and a police source, identified him as Anthony McKinley, a longtime resident of the block. Neighbors described him as a familiar and steady presence in the area, saying he had lived there for decades and was often seen outside in the mornings. Several said they were stunned by the violence on a street they described as quiet and home to many older residents.
Crystal Harris, a nearby resident, said she heard two shots and later learned her neighbor had died. She described him as “very polite and kind,” someone who quietly helped people on the block. Pete Hutton, another neighbor, said he was shocked by the killing and called the man “an awesome dude.” Shihee Hatchett said the victim had acted as a mentor to younger people in the neighborhood for years, teaching them basketball and trade skills and pushing them to stay out of trouble.
The shooting now enters the long review process that follows police use of deadly force in Philadelphia. Investigators are expected to examine body-camera footage, physical evidence, and accounts from officers and civilian witnesses. Officials had not announced whether additional video had been recovered, whether ballistics testing had been completed, or whether the officer gave commands before shots were fired. Those details are likely to shape public understanding of how the confrontation began and how quickly it escalated.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the main facts were still narrow but significant: officers responded to a weapons call, encountered an armed man on a porch, and within seconds both the man and an officer fired. The next major developments are expected to come from the department’s evidence review and any later release of investigative findings.
Author note: Last updated April 7, 2026.