Homicides 2019 323
Saquan Crawley, 25, a barber and father of two who ‘had a smile that could get you’
Saquan Jamir Crawley had a smile that stayed with people. His father, Ali, noticed it most after Saquan died, looking back through pictures of his son. Saquan smiled easily in photos, seeming to show the happy child he had been and the young man he was still trying to become. “He had a smile that […]
Writing Heals: Tyrek Dunn, 21, the fly guy with the cool smile—and a great bunny hop in the snow
This story was produced as part of our Writing Heals program, in which we hire a family member of the deceased to write the story of the loved one they lost. For more information or to sign up to write about someone you lost to gun violence, click here. _____________________________________________________ By David Bratcher, Tyrek’s brother It’s the […]
Matthew Guerra, 21, an ‘acrobatic’ kid who protected his sister during years in foster care
As a kid, Matthew Guerra never failed to make his sister laugh. Whether it was by making crazy sounds or poorly mimicking a rapper, he brought sunshine into his family’s life. “Every time he used to make this monkey sound like ‘oo oo ah ah’, or when music came on, he used to freestyle even […]
Brian ‘Machi’ Lawhon II, 30: “It’s not goodbye. It’s ‘see you later.'”
The best day of Brian Michael Lawhon II’s life was the day he became a father. He was still in high school, but he and his girlfriend, Jennifer, doted on the baby girl they named Ayanna, which means “pretty flower,” and they made it work. “He was young, but he continued school, and he worked […]
Tyrik Acres, 20, loved teaching kids how to play basketball
At 5 feet, 7½ inches, Tyrik Amir Acres wasn’t the biggest player on the Bartram Braves football team, nor was he the tallest player on the basketball court. But that didn’t stop him from excelling at both sports. Tyrik’s mother, Shnieesha Acres, recalls watching her son score the winning touchdown when Bartram High School played […]
Khalil Hicks, 39, a father who designed and sold clothing
In the summer of 1997, Khalil Hicks and Saleemah Oglesby set eyes on each other for the first time outside of Power 99 FM’s annual Powerhouse concert. They had mutual friends, and the group had purchased tickets for the concert. But when they tried to enter the concert with the tickets, they found out they […]
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 […]
Tyrone Armstrong, 36: ‘He left an impact on all of us’
Wherever he was, Tyrone Armstrong always had a Bible with him. Whether it was his pocket-sized Bible he kept in his car or the one he had in his house, he was always reading and annotating it. It didn’t start off that way. Tyrone grew up in a mainly Muslim household, but when he was […]
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 […]
Aaron Devine, 25, a hugger who loved his family
Aaron Devine Jr. was a hugger. At what would be his final birthday cookout last year, he had his arms wrapped around one of his beloved aunts, Cecelia White, nearly the entire time. “I was serving people and putting food on plates and he kept coming up to hug me,” she said. Looking back, she […]
Ammar Hassan, 17, WorkReady teen who was set to graduate high school this month
Ammar Hassan had plans. He was a go-getter, his mother Shawanda Hassan said, and he was determined to help grow his family’s business, Hassan Home Improvement. He was scheduled to graduate from West Catholic Preparatory High School, then attend college. Ammar was also going to be a father, a fact he had not yet shared […]
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 […]
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