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Tyrone Tunnell, 31, admitted to killing 27-year-old Eric Harrison and wounding a second guard during a confrontation at the Macy's store on 13th and Market streets in December 2023, police said.
Tunnell attempted to steal hats from the department store but was stopped by Harrison and his unarmed colleague, according to investigators. After an initial altercation, Tunnell left the store but returned 15 minutes later, yelling threats and searching for the guards.
When he found Harrison, Tunnell pulled out a switchblade and stabbed him in the neck, police said. The second guard, who tried to intervene, was stabbed in the face and arm. Tunnell then took one of the guards' shoes, put it on, and fled the scene, police added.
Harrison was rushed to Jefferson Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:19 a.m. The second guard was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
SEPTA surveillance footage captured Tunnell discarding the knife on the Market-Frankford Line tracks and fleeing to Somerset Station in Kensington, where he was arrested by transit police.
"This started as a retail theft, upgraded obviously to a robbery, and then led ultimately to a homicide," interim PPD Commissioner John Stanford said during a press conference.
Loved ones remember Harrison as a hardworking and kind man.
"He was respectful to his parents, his elders, and others," Harrison’s family wrote on a GoFundMe campaign launched in his memory. "He was kind, giving, and loyal. He always smiled, was a man of few words, was an observer, loved to make jokes and laugh, and enjoyed a small circle of true friends."
The fundraiser, created to help Harrison’s parents with funeral expenses, has raised over $63,000, far surpassing its original $25,000 goal.
Tunnell, who told police he returned to the store because he was upset with how the guards handled the initial confrontation, pleaded guilty this week to Murder, Aggravated Assault, and related charges. Sentencing is expected in the coming weeks.
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