A person is being questioned after a Philadelphia firefighter was killed inside a home in the city’s Holmesburg section.
He has been identified as 56-year-old Antonio Rodriguez.
Officers were called to the 4700 block of Shelmire Avenue around 4 a.m. on Wednesday.
When police arrived, they said a 27-year-old man was sitting on the porch, locked inside the porch gates, which officers had to break into.
Antonio Rodriguez Philadelphia Fire Department
That man was taken to the homicide division. His name has not yet been released.
Responding officers also discovered Rodriguez dead inside the house.
“When they went inside they found a 56-year-old that was extremely injured,” Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore, for Philadelphia police, said.
Homicide detectives are now investigating the case.
“We don’t know what occurred. There was some kind of physical confrontation that occurs inside the property. It was not a gunshot or anything like that. It was a physical assault. It could’ve been a strangulation,” Vanore said.
Police say Rodriguez was an active-duty Philadelphia firefighter.
A fire department official briefly spoke at the scene earlier Wednesday morning, saying, “Today’s a rough day. Definitely a rough day.”
The Philadelphia Fire Department later posted a statement saying they are heartbroken to lose one of their members, adding they are working closely with police as they investigate.
Police and fire escorted the body to the medical examiner’s office, where a cause of death will be determined.
The circumstances of this incident remain under investigation by homicide detectives.
Neighbor Steve Uchniat was upset to learn about the homicide so close to home.
“Taking a life is kind of tough to understand when you live here,” he said. “Am I safe?”