Police ID man killed in ‘execution-style’ shooting ambush while riding bike in South Philly
Wednesday night’s shooting is the third in the last four weeks that police have described as targeted “execution-style” attacks.
Police identified the 25-year-old man who was riding a bicycle in South Philadelphia on Wednesday night when three gunmen shot at him at least 40 times, killing him in what police say was an “execution-style” slaying.
Shortly after 7 p.m., police responded to reports of a shooting at 15th Street and Snyder Avenue. Officers found Kaishef Johnson, 25, of the 2200 block of South 22nd Street, lying on the pavement of Snyder Avenue, still straddling his mountain bike, police said.
Johnson had been shot multiple times in the upper body and head, according to police, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said Johnson was riding his bicycle on the 1500 block of Snyder Avenue when three men wearing masks and gloves and dressed all in black jumped out of a burgundy Nissan parked at the intersection of 15th Street and Snyder Avenue and fired dozens of shots at him.
The gunmen then got back into the Nissan and fled eastbound on Snyder Avenue toward Broad Street, police said. Officers found the getaway car abandoned at 2000 South Front Street at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Investigators found at least 40 spent shell casings at the scene of the shooting, some lying just inches from Johnson’s body. Police said they believe the shooting was targeted because surveillance footage shows the gunmen standing over Johnson and continuing to fire after he fell to the ground. The motive for the shooting was unclear, authorities said.
At Johnson’s South Philadelphia home on Thursday, his family declined to comment as they grappled with their loss.
On Thursday, the sounds of the morning rush of commuters waiting for the bus on Snyder Avenue and grabbing a breakfast pastry from nearby Okie Dokie Donuts could be heard at the scene of the shooting, a block away from Broad Street and about the same distance from the Passyunk Avenue business district.
The remnants of the previous night’s gunfire were barely visible, with a torn piece of police crime scene tape flapping in the wind and what appeared to be bullet holes visible in the asphalt of Snyder Avenue.
About 7 p.m., Jessica Yang, one of the co-owners of nearby BH Grocery, heard what she first thought might be firecrackers. Soon, she realized she was hearing gunshots, and said Thursday that she heard 12 to 15 shots.
Yang, who has owned the convenience store with her husband for about seven years, said that the area is generally safe, and that she could recall only one other shooting, four years ago.
The owner of a day-care center steps away from where Johnson was killed pointed out what she said were bullet holes in the street, alarmed at how close the shooting was to her business. The owner, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said that the day-care center was closed when the shots were fired and that the area, where the day-care center has operated since 2012, was usually safe.
“It’s never happened here,” the woman said Thursday morning. “It’s always been safe. It’s gentrified.”
“We do our best to keep everyone safe,” she added. “The kids safe.”
Wednesday night’s shooting is the third in the last four weeks that police have described as targeted, “execution-style” attacks.
Sixteen-year-old Jamil Wyatt was killed last month while out getting groceries for the family that had taken him in. Surveillance footage obtained by The Inquirer shows at least three gunmen chasing Wyatt down a driveway and shooting him. Police said the gunmen stood over the teen and shot him at close range.
Late last month, Raheem Jefferson had just parked in the lot of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, on the 1500 block of Germantown Avenue, and was walking toward the mosque for a prayer service when a man ran up behind him and fired at least 17 times from a large-caliber semiautomatic handgun, killing him, police said.
Authorities ask that anyone with information call homicide detectives at 215-686-3334. Tips can be submitted anonymously by calling or texting the Philadelphia Police Department tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.