Philly man who fatally stabbed Center City Macy’s security guard after foiled theft attempt pleads guilty to murder

A Philadelphia man who stabbed two security guards at the Center City Macy’s last year, killing one, has pleaded guilty to murder and related crimes and now faces the prospect of decades behind bars, authorities said Friday.

Tyrone Tunnell, 31, admitted Thursday that he fatally stabbed Eric Harrison, 27, and also stabbed another security guard at the store last December, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.

Tunnell had tried to steal some hats at the department at 13th and Market Streets, but his crime was foiled when the security guards confronted him and retrieved the merchandise. He returned around 10 minutes later and stabbed the two guards with a pocket knife as horrified holiday shoppers looked on.

Harrison, was struck in the neck and later died from his injuries. The other guard, Christian Mitchell, was stabbed in the face, groin, chest, and back, but survived.

Harrison’s mother, Dawn Fobbs, was in court as the man accused of killing her son admitted his guilt, and she said she was nearly overcome with emotion.

Tunnell, she said, expressed no remorse. His attorney Shaka Johnson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fobbs and Harrison’s father, Eric Coates, said they were grateful that Tunnell accepted responsibility for his crimes and would face a long prison sentence.

“I am thankful justice is being done,” said Coates. “At the same time I’m heartbroken because two lives are lost here. The life of my son who was trying to do the right thing working, and this young man who made a dumb decision, a senseless act that made no sense at all over two hats.”

Harrison, whose family called him Lil E or Dizzle, was a kind, loving, and hardworking man, who worked two full-time jobs, his family said. He would sort mail overnight at the U.S. Postal Service in the Northeast, then drive down to help open the Macy’s.

He had a passion for sneakers and fashion and loved the Eagles, a fandom he shared with Coates.

A year after Harrison’s death, his family says, their loss remains profound.

They have sued Macy’s and its affiliates, alleging a lack of security and safety measures that they say might have prevented their son’s death.

Tunnell is scheduled to be sentenced in February for third-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault. He faces decades in prison, but Harrison’s family said no amount of punishment would be sufficient.

“Even if he spends life in prison, he still gets to call his mother, call his father and say Merry Christmas, happy Mother’s Day,” said Fobbs. “I’m forever robbed. There’s no time that’s going to give me back what I lost.”