2019 Homicides 77
Zah’Air Chatmon, 21: ‘He dreamed of flying high’
Growing up, Zah’Air Chatmon was never given a BB gun or a Super Soaker. Living in a violent South Philadelphia neighborhood, his mother didn’t want her son’s fingers getting too comfortable with triggers. At age 17, Jeannette Barnes was blessed with a smooth pregnancy and even smoother transition upon leaving the hospital with her baby […]
Kevin ‘Snoop’ Williams, 24, Army veteran and security officer
Kevin Williams was private. His mother, Sonya George, calls him “my mysterious child,” prone to doing things like joining the U.S. Army and announcing the news after he had been sworn in. Kevin, whose nickname was Snoop, had been living on his own since he was 17, so when he asked Sonya if he could […]
Donte Felix Smith, 27, ‘holidays weren’t complete until he finally showed the hell up’
The above image, Place I Belong, was created by artist Laura Orfanelli as part of the 2020-2021 Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition. _____________________________________________________________________________ You could never stay mad at Donte Smith. He would simply lift up his pant legs and flash a pair of mismatched theme socks decorated with dogs, Doritos or hamburgers. “He was […]
Kyle Cortez Davis, 31, Marine Corps veteran and ‘girl dad’
When Kyle Cortez Davis was 6 or 7 years old, he approached his sister with an idea. “He said, ‘Hey, I’m curious. I want to figure out what’s inside that fire extinquisher,’” Sha’rah Karla Davis said. “I said, ‘Okay! I’m really curious, too!’” So, Kyle pulled the pin on the extinguisher and sprayed his sister […]
Jose ‘Pichy’ Rivera, 46, owned a sports bar, loved baseball
When Jose Luis Rivera bought Prime Time Sports Bar in North Philadelphia about six years ago, his family was worried. His mother, especially, didn’t like the neighborhood, and she expressed that to him. “He said everything would be OK and nothing was going to happen,” his younger sister Carmen Agosto said. But on the night […]
Tysheem Pennock, 20: ‘He was trying to be a better everything’
February 2019 was a significant month in Tysheem Pennock’s life. First, his daughter Allure was born on Feb. 16, 2019. And two days later, Tysheem turned 20 years old. Tysheem’s family noticed a major shift in him after the birth of his daughter. “It changed him dramatically,” his aunt Nicole Stone said. “When he was […]
Lamarr M. Boyd, 26, looked forward to becoming a father
Lamarr Boyd and Tiffany Martin were looking forward to welcoming their son into the world. After several miscarriages, they were hopeful that he would be born as planned in November 2018. But the baby was born early, on Sept. 11, 2018, and died the same day. Lamarr and Tiffany were devastated. “He didn’t really show […]
William Lyons, 24: His unborn daughter is due on his birthday
Mirna Santiago and William Lyons met in 2013 when they were both ordering food at McDonald’s. “He bought my food for me, we exchanged numbers and from there we started talking,” Mirna said. Their first date was at Applebee’s. A few months into their relationship, Mirna found out that Will hadn’t been completely upfront about […]
John Heggie, 30, ‘angelic spirit’ working two jobs
The above image, John Heggie, was created by artist Celeste Schor as part of the 2020-2021 Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition. ___________________________________________________________________________ When John Heggie III went with Teresa Prescott to a Senegalese restaurant in West Philadelphia, he had no idea what he was in for. It was his first time eating African cuisine, so […]
Shawn Rankins, 28: “My son had a loving heart”
His family and the Philadelphia Eagles were what Shawn Rankins loved the most, his mother Shawna said. “Shawn’s main goal was to take care of me and my mom and to show his siblings a different path than what he took,” she said. He had made mistakes in the past. Starting in his teenage years, […]
Najee Jones, 25, tradesman who attended college on a football scholarship
Najee Jones excelled at football. Wearing his #71 jersey, he was a standout defensive and offensive lineman for Imhotep Charter High School’s team, and his stats landed him a college scholarship. At Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, he majored in plumbing technology — his father was in the same field — and went […]
Najir Peterson, 20: ‘Mom, you pushed me, and I did it, and this paper is for you’
The proudest moment of Najir Imir Nathan Peterson’s life was when he graduated from Camelot Academy in 2017. He overcame a lot to get to that point. Najir was sick as a child and suffered from seizures. At school, he had learning differences and a speech impairment, which led to him being bullied. Najir went […]
Roger David, 29
If you have any information about this victim, please contact us at [email protected] Date: 2019-03-31 Location: 4000 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Nicholas Flacco, 20
If you have any information about this victim, please contact us at [email protected] philly.com fox29 6abc Date: 2019-03-30 Location: 1900 Pattison Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Christian Crews, 25
If you have any information about this victim, please contact us at [email protected] northeasttimes Date: 2019-03-30 Location: 1700 Harrison St, Philadelphia, PA
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Every month, we create a placeholder webpage for each person murdered in Philadelphia. Our hope is to elevate these pages into fully written stories with photos that show who each victim was as a person. Through storytelling, we're shining a light on the human toll of gun violence in Philadelphia.