CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A Philadelphia man wanted for allegedly murdering his father faced a judge in Medford after his arrest in Harvard Square on Tuesday afternoon.
The search for the suspect, 31-year-old Sohan Panjrolia, prompted a shelter in place for about one hour in the area of Harvard Square. Harvard University students and faculty were sent text messages and emails alerting them to stay away from the area.
Panjrolia was arrested without incident after police had received a tip the fugitive was in the area. A Harvard Police officer spotted Panjrolia's car inside a parking garage before police officers found him sitting inside a Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop.
Police in Philadelphia say Panjrolia is wanted for fatally shooting his father, 60-year-old Mahendra B. Panjrolia, with an assault rifle on Saturday, Aug. 3. Officials say Panjrolia was a student at Harvard and used to live in Cambridge.
Authorities in Cambridge said they had reason to believe Panjrolia was armed with the same assault rifle he used to kill his father, but there is still no word on whether they found the weapon or not. It is still unclear when Panjrolia will be taken back to Philadelphia to face murder charges.
"The information we had is that he is possibly armed with a high-powered assault rifle," said Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville Bard. "Obviously, if we choose how to engage and where to engage a suspect it's not in a densely populated area."
According to officials in Philadelphia, Panjrolia also suffers from schizophrenia.
Panjrolia faced a Massachusetts judge on Wednesday to be charged as a "fugitive of justice". He has been ordered held without bail as he awaits extradition back to Pennsylvania.
Cell phone video from witnesses at the scene show Panjrolia being taken into custody and put inside a police cruiser.
After recent mass shootings that took place in California, Texas and Ohio, Cambridge was on high alert when the alert for a shelter in place was sent out. Thankfully, no one was injured.
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