County detectives are investigating a pre-dawn officer-involved shooting near St. Joseph’s University.
BALA CYNWYD, Pa. — A former part-time police officer wanted on child rape charges was fatally shot early Wednesday after authorities say he opened fire on officers during a confrontation on Old Lancaster Road near the campus of Saint Joseph’s University.
Montgomery County detectives are now leading the review of the gunfire, following a county protocol used after officer-involved shootings. The case is drawing intense attention because the man killed had recently been charged in a decades-old child sexual abuse investigation and had worked in law enforcement in Delaware County.
The shooting unfolded before dawn in the Bala Cynwyd section of Lower Merion Township, a densely traveled corridor where residential streets meet major arteries and college traffic. Authorities said township officers were on patrol when they spotted a vehicle they believed belonged to Francis Connell Collier, 38, who was wanted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on charges that included rape of a child. The officers saw Collier returning to the vehicle and moved in, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said. Collier fired at the officers, Steele said, and the officers returned fire, fatally wounding him.
Investigators have described the confrontation as fast and violent, occurring around 3:48 a.m. on Feb. 25. In the hours that followed, police remained in the area as evidence teams worked the scene. Officers searched for shell casings, documented the locations of vehicles and other objects, and cleared roadways that had been blocked during the response. Authorities said the incident was contained to the immediate area, but the early-morning police presence and temporary closures drew neighbors to windows and porches as the scene stretched into daylight.
Officials have not publicly identified any officers who fired their weapons, and authorities have not said how many rounds were fired or whether any officers were injured. Police have also not released additional details about what prompted the initial approach beyond saying the officers recognized the vehicle and knew Collier was wanted. The investigation is being handled by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, with detectives collecting physical evidence and reviewing available video as part of the standard process.
The death came one day after Collier was charged in a separate criminal case that centered on allegations of abuse dating back more than two decades. The accusations were brought by two women who said they were sexually assaulted when they were young children. The allegations, investigators said, involved repeated abuse between 2001 and 2004. The complaint accused Collier of rape and other offenses, including endangering the welfare of children, based on conduct alleged to have occurred when the victims were under 13.
Collier’s law enforcement work has become a key part of public reaction because the allegations involved child sexual abuse. Authorities have said he most recently served as a part-time officer with the Morton Borough Police Department in Delaware County. The department said he was placed on unpaid administrative leave after prosecutors informed police of the investigation in December and that he resigned on Dec. 19. The department said it was “profoundly disturbed” by the allegations, while also saying no criminal allegations had been made against him during his time with the agency.
In interviews with local media, one of the accusers, Tori Payne, said she came forward in December 2025 along with another female family member after learning Collier had become a police officer. Payne said seeing photos of him with children and learning he had been assigned to a child abuse and exploitation task force pushed her to report what she said happened in her childhood. “There was, you know, sadness, anger. Sadness mainly for my childhood self,” Payne said Wednesday night. She said the ending of the case without a trial left her with mixed emotions.
Authorities have not said whether the criminal case will be formally dismissed in court, but the death of the defendant typically ends prosecution unless charges are tied to other defendants. Court officials have said there was no defense attorney listed for Collier at the time of the shooting. Investigators have also not said whether additional records, phone data, or forensic testing tied to the sex-crimes case will be made public through court filings, now that the defendant is dead.
What happens next in the shooting review is more defined. The county detective bureau’s investigation is expected to include interviews with the officers involved, forensic analysis of firearms and ballistics, and a review of any body-worn camera video, dash camera footage, and private surveillance from the neighborhood. Authorities have not announced a public timeline for findings, and Steele’s office has not said when it will release a fuller summary of evidence, if at all.
For residents near Old Lancaster Road, the case has blended two kinds of fears: sudden street violence and the unsettling details of a child sexual abuse allegation involving a former officer. Neighbors described being jolted awake by sharp noises and then seeing flashing lights outside as police moved through the area. Others said they learned the details later and were stunned that the confrontation happened so close to a well-known campus and busy commuter routes.
As of Thursday, the officer-involved shooting remained under investigation by county detectives, and authorities had not released the names of the officers involved or additional details about the exchange of gunfire. The next milestone is the completion of the detective bureau’s case file and a review by the district attorney’s office.
Author note: Last updated February 26, 2026.