UPenn officer hurt in West Philly shooting rampage returns to work
A University of Pennsylvania police officer shot last year by a rampaging gunman in West Philadelphia returned to work this week.
Officer Ed Miller was applauded by about 45 peers and friends during roll call on his first day back Wednesday, said Maureen Rush, Penn's vice president for public safety.
The moment was captured in a photo on Twitter by Penn's public safety division.
Miller, 56, was shot in a hip and ankle on Sept. 16 when he and two Philadelphia police officers confronted Nicholas Glenn in an alley off the 4800 block of Sansom Street.
Glenn, 25, was on a shooting spree around 11:20 p.m., police said, first opening fire at 52nd Street and Sansom, where he directed 18 shots at Philadelphia Police Sgt. Sylvia Young as she sat in her patrol car. Young was struck six times; Philadelphia police said Thursday that she is still recovering from her injuries.
After shooting Young, police said, Glenn fired shots at the Maximum Level Lounge on the 5100 block of Sansom, then continued east on Sansom, where he fired at a man and woman sitting in a car. Sara Salih later died, while her companion was injured.
At 48th Street and Sansom, Glenn died while trading gunfire with Miller and the other officers.
In total, police said, Glenn killed Salih and injured five others — including Miller and Young — during his blocks-long rampage.
Days after the shooting, Miller, who joined Penn's force about 2½ years ago after a three-decade career as a Philadelphia police officer, described it as "a night I'd like to forget," but said the job "is in my blood, so I'll be back."
Rush said Miller was given "a hero's welcome" Wednesday.
He's "just glad to be back," she said, "and glad to be alive."
