Officer dies

Most residents seemed calm despite the uproar, hoping that police would catch the gunman. "I'm praying for everybody," said Alfreda Jackson, 53, who was waiting for a prescription at the CVS pharmacy across Broad from the doughnut shop.

"I'm praying for the family, and above all the city," Jackson said. "It's sad this has to happen to our officers."

But Denny Royder, 20, was annoyed, saying he and a friend were questioned three times by officers. "I just feel mad that I can't walk in my own neighborhood without being messed with because I'm wearing a black jacket," Royder said. "They wanted to know if either one of us had tattoos."

Mark Presley Sr., 37, said that an officer stopped him about 3:30 p.m. and showed him a picture of the suspect. Presley, whose mother is a police officer, said he knew the man by the nickname "Fatman."

As the search continued, the Cassidy family held vigil at Einstein, attended by dozens of police officers.

"There's a wonderful spirit of solidarity," Rigali said. "Everyone is hoping. Everyone is praying. There's no way of knowing just what will happen."

Coincidentally, Jimmy Binns, a lawyer who finances sidewalk plaques honoring slain officers, was about to begin a ceremony dedicating two such memorials nearby at Limekiln Pike and Stenton Avenue when the call came in about Cassidy's shooting. The officers who had mustered for the dedication, including one officer in a kilt, ran off to respond.

Binns later visited the hospital to check on Cassidy.

He said that the officer's wife, Judy, hugged him and said: "You're not going to have to put a plaque down for my husband."