By Vinny Vella
Philadelphia Daily News
PHILADELPHIA — GameStop has provided a “sizable donation” to the family of the police officer gunned down inside one of its stores last week, according to John McNesby, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5.
McNesby, who met with executives from GameStop, declined to disclose the amount, only saying that it was “very large.”
Officer Robert Wilson III was killed March 5 during a gunbattle with armed robbers inside the GameStop in Hope Plaza, on Lehigh Avenue near 21st Street in North Philly, police said. Wilson entered the store just before 5 p.m. to buy his oldest son, Quahmier, a PlayStation 4 as a reward for doing well in school.
Two men entered the store, announced a robbery and opened fire on Wilson, who died protecting other customers in the store, police said.
“Everyone in the GameStop family will always remember Officer Wilson for his sacrifice while defending our staff and customers in the North Philadelphia GameStop store,” the video-game retailer said in a message on its Facebook page.
GameStop will also be collecting money for the trust fund benefiting Wilson’s family in its East Coast stores, McNesby said.
The men charged in Wilson’s murder — Carlton Hipps, 30, and Ramone Williams, 26 — remain in custody without bail.
Funeral arrangements for Wilson are pending, according to police.
Copyright 2015 the Philadelphia Daily News