Paramus Man Arrested in Road-Rage Shooting of Philadelphia School Safety Officer

Philadelphia police say Ariza Giansteban, 28, was taken into custody on July 5 in Paramus, New Jersey, on charges stemming from the June 29 shooting of an on-duty Philadelphia school safety officer. Authorities have also recovered the white 2017–2019 Kia Sportage that was linked to the attack. Giansteban is being held in New Jersey while extradition proceedings to Philadelphia are under way. Investigators allege Giansteban opened fire shortly before 2 a.m. on the 300 block of North Columbus Boulevard, near Penn’s Landing, after a motorist flagged down the 68-year-old officer during what was described as a road-rage incident. The officer managed to drive a short distance before crashing into a tree; he suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and face and remains in critical condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The victim, a retired Philadelphia police officer who has spent nearly two decades with the School District’s Office of School Safety, had been returning from an overnight assignment at a high-school shelter for residents displaced by a fire. Prosecutors in Philadelphia are expected to charge Giansteban with attempted murder and related offenses once he is returned to the city.