Philly man who killed Macy’s security guard sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison
Eric Harrison was fatally stabbed in the attack and another guard was wounded in December 2023.
A Philadelphia man who stabbed two security guards at the Center City Macy’s store, killing one, was sentenced Thursday to 30 to 60 years in prison.
Tyrone Tunnell, 31, fatally stabbed Eric Harrison, 27, and also attacked another security guard at the store at the start of the busy holiday season in December 2023. Tunnell had tried to steal some hats at the department store at 13th and Market Streets, but he was foiled by the guards, who confronted him and took back the merchandise.
Angered, Tunnell returned around 10 minutes later and stabbed the two men with a pocketknife. Harrison was struck in the neck and later died of his injuries. His colleague, Christian Mitchell, was stabbed in the face, groin, chest, and back, but survived.
In December, nearly a year after the crime, Tunnell pleaded guilty to murder and related charges.
As the judge prepared to hand down a sentence for Tunnell on Thursday, Mitchell, who was stabbed five times during the attack, said he has nightmares about the stabbing and lives in fear of other people.
“Being stabbed five times is outlandish and to survive at the same time,” he said later. “I was on adrenaline trying to help my coworker, my friend, Eric Harrison. It’s unbelievable that I have to now sit here and experience this without him.”
Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott’s decision came after Harrison’s mother, Dawn Fobbs, his father, Eric Coates, and other loved ones asked her to sentence Tunnell to a long prison term. Harrison’s parents said he was a vibrant young man with a promising future. His loss, they said, was immeasurable.
His parents later said they were disappointed by the sentence, but acknowledged that no amount of time behind bars could ever compensate for their loss.
“I knew today no matter what was the outcome, I wasn’t going to leave out the courtroom satisfied,” his mother said outside the courthouse after the hearing. “I am happy that it’s 30 to 60. He’ll be up for parole when he’s 61 years old, so that is something. He is off the streets. It does make a statement.”
His father echoed that view. ”Well, 30 years to me, of course, wouldn’t be enough. But 110 wouldn’t have been enough for me,” he said. “Because there’s no such thing as justice unless you can give me my son back, and that will never happen. He’ll never be coming back.”
Tunnell’s attorney, Shaka Johnson, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Harrison’s murder devastated his large, tight-knit family. Known to his family as “Lil E” or “Dizzle,” Harrison was killed while working one of two jobs he held down, his parents said.
The criminal case came to an end as the Macy’s store where Harrison was killed prepares to close as part of a companywide retrenchment and faces a lawsuit from Harrison’s family, who contend that better safety measures might have prevented his death.
Macy’s did not immediately respond to requests for comment.