At the Philadelphia Obituary Project, we treat homicide victims as individuals rather than statistics. But we are in crisis. The number of people murdered continues to rise, even during the pandemic. And so every month, we will share this data along with the names of each person in one post.
October was Philadelphia’s deadliest month in the deadliest year the city has experienced since the 1990s.
For the first time in 14 years, Philadelphia’s homicide rate has surpassed 400. On Oct. 26, Barry Torrance became 2020’s 400th victim. The 44-year-old was found fatally shot in a West Philadelphia home.
In 2019, there were 356 homicides total for the year. When looking at year-to-date numbers, this year’s homicide rate is a 39% increase over 2019.
Philadelphia has not seen a homicide rate over 400 since 2006, according to Philadelphia Inquirer data. That year, the 400th victim was killed on Dec. 25, 2006, and this year’s rate has already surpassed that. As of Friday, there have been 419 people killed so far in 2020.
The monthly rate also spiked in October. There were 66 people killed, a significant increase compared to September, when there were 46 homicide victims for the month.
Here are the names of all the people killed in October, plus when and where. But we know they are not just names. Please contact us at [email protected] if you are a family member of any of these victims so we can properly memorialize them.
For a list of September’s victims, click here. Lists from earlier months can be found here.
Oct. 1: Markeya Green, 35, 5000 block of Merion Avenue
Oct. 2: Shyeem Robinson, 21, 6900 block of Chew Avenue
Oct. 2: Shamari Taylor, 41, 4100 block of North American Street
Oct. 3: Eric Devoe, 26, 2900 block of North 27th Street
Oct. 3: Louis Jimenez, 28, 2800 block of North Mascher Street
Oct. 3: Kenny Keng Dang-Le, 19, 2000 block of East Letterly Street
Oct. 4: Omar Wade, 15, 2100 block of Jackson Street
Oct. 5: Thomas Peterson, 24, 1900 block of East Cornwall Street
Oct. 5: Juawann Mason, 27, 1800 block of Corlies Street
Oct. 5: Naim Jones, 22, Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center
Oct. 5: Tashon Whitefield, 28, 1300 block of Fanshawe Street
Oct. 5: Lamont Brown, 17, 5600 block of Langdon Street
Oct. 5: Ericka Harris, 48, 6500 block of Lambert Street
Oct. 5: James Ellis, 29, 6500 block of Lambert Street
Oct. 6: Donavan Porter, 19, 5401 Willow Avenue
Oct. 6: Rasheed Sloan, 33, 1300 block of North 53rd Street
Oct. 6: Sunni Ennis, 34, 1900 block of South 60th Street
Oct. 7: Darrell Robinson, 25, 5501 block of Baltimore Avenue
Oct. 7: Marques Hall, 32, 5800 block of Master Street
Oct. 8: Skylar Mooney, 19, 100 block of West Armat Street
Oct. 8: Ammron Hargrove, 29, 4900 block of Frankford Avenue
Oct. 8: Andre Blackshear, 56, 4500 block of North 13th Street
Oct. 10: Kenneth Littles, 23, 1100 block of Orthodox Street
Oct. 10: Tanya Harris, 54, 7400 block of Torresdale Avenue
Oct. 11: Quadir Patterson, 20, 6500 block of Windsor Avenue
Oct. 12: Allen Williams, 31, 3000 block of Percy Street
Oct. 12: Devon Joseph, 5, 4800 block of Pine Street
Oct. 12: Josalissa Melendez, 26, 2100 block of East Clearfield Street
Oct. 13: Ronald Wilford, 27, 1700 block of North 28th Street
Oct. 15: Laquan Davis, 2, 5600 block of North Camac Street
Oct. 15: Marilyn Zellars, 54, 5700 block of Walton Street
Oct. 16: Rasheed Holloway, 35, 3400 block of North Marshall Street
Oct. 17: Yusef Nash, 20, 1000 block of East Mount Airy Avenue
Oct. 17: Maureek Hunter, 24, 5000 block of Hutchinson Street
Oct. 18: Jayden Scott, 21, 7800 block of Williams Avenue
Oct. 20: Adolph Goodman, 42, 1600 South 20th Street
Oct. 20: Steven Raditz, 52, 6300 block of Elmhurst Street
Oct. 20: Tyrone Coach, 19, 2800 block of North Bonsall Street
Oct. 21: Jaleel Norman-Wells, 25, 1500 North 19th Street
Oct. 21: Aidan Seddon, 18, 2000 East Clearfield Street
Oct. 23: Daniel Robinson, 33, 1700 North 31st Street
Oct. 24: Lewis Hansford, 25, 6200 block of Christian Street
Oct. 24: Hanif Poles, 17, 500 East Duval Street
Oct. 24: Marvin Soler, 28, 6100 block of Castor Avenue
Oct. 25: Kenan Snell, 37, 6400 block of Rising Sun Avenue
Oct. 25: Joseph Konneh, 21, 8000 block of Lyons Street
Oct. 25: Takieyn Harris, 24, 300 block of North 62nd Street
Oct. 25: Devin Gold, 27, 2900 block of West Girard Avenue
Oct. 26: Barry Torrence, 44, 4800 block of Wesminster Avenue
Oct. 27: Tyron Alexander, 29, 2500 block of North 5th Street
Oct. 27: Tyjer Hill, 18, 5800 block of Fernwood Street
Oct. 27: Jarell Jackson, 26, 5700 block of Locust Street
Oct. 27: Shahjahan McCaskill, 26, 5700 block of Locust Street
Oct. 28: Brenda Murray, 40, 4600 block of Paul Street
Oct. 28: Richard Bond, 36, 1800 block of West Ontario Street
Oct. 28: Santee Weddington, 20, 1600 block of Margaret Street
Oct. 28: Keshone Young, 24, 4200 block of Frankford Avenue
Oct. 29: William McElhenny, 45, 2900 block of Kensington Avenue
Oct. 29: Joseph Toms, 27, 2400 block of Bouvier Street
Oct. 29: Amir Boston, 33, 5300 block of Irving Street
Oct. 30: Waseem Mason, 15, 800 South Cecil Street
Oct. 31: Marcus Dixon, 30, 100 block of East Duval Street
Oct. 31: Shawn Taylor, 26, 900 block of East Hunting Park Avenue
Resources are available for people and communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Click here for more information.
