Aidan Seddon didn’t care much for school, but that changed in his senior year. After struggling with online classes at first, Aidan found his groove, worked hard and graduated with honors from Roman Catholic High School in 2020.
Like many members of his class, Aidan was disappointed by the anticlimactic ending.
“He felt like he missed out,” Aidan’s mother Alice Seddon said. “There was no senior prom, no graduation ceremony. When he got his diploma we went to the school parking lot to pick it up.”
Aidan with his brother and cousins
Still, Aidan was glad to move on with his life. He enrolled in the Community College of Philadelphia and was teaching himself how to dye and print designs on hoodies. He was also into boxing and worked out regularly at the Front Street Gym.
Aidan had been a victim of two random acts of crime during the spring and summer of 2019—he suffered a concussion when he and his friend were attacked on the street, then a few months later, Aidan was mugged and stabbed in Manayunk.
These incidents left Aidan with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he sought treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s violence intervention program, which he found helpful.
Inexplicably, Aidan was the victim of a third random act of violent crime on Oct. 21, 2020, and this one would take his life.
That evening, he and his mother had talked about having fish for dinner, but first he was going to work out. Aidan and a friend were walking in the 2000 block of Clearfield Street, headed to Front Street Gym, when an unknown gunman started shooting, missed his intended target, and fatally shot Aidan in the back. He was 18 years old. Police have not made any arrests. (Aidan’s friend was not injured.)
Aidan boxing at Front Street Gym
“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Alice said.
Aidan was born Feb. 7, 2002 in Philadelphia to Alice and Daniel Seddon and raised in Port Richmond and Manayunk. He had a brother, Daniel, who is four years older. (Daniel is pictured above with Aidan.)
Alice’s family is Russian, and they were confined to a forced labor camp in Germany during World War II until they had the opportunity to come to the United States. They learned to stick together, and that close bond remained through the generations. Aidan, Daniel and cousins maintained the same tight-knit connection. When it was time for Daniel to pick a college, he chose Drexel University so he could still spend time with Aidan.
Aidan was a happy, quiet child, but as he got older, he became a mischief-maker. He didn’t like to sit still, which put him at odds with his Catholic school teachers. Aidan had a creative flair, and art was his favorite subject.
Aidan’s walk was unmistakable—he had a bounce in his step—and he wore a silly grin to make you think he was up to something, and he usually was.
During his senior year in the fall of 2019, Aidan was struggling with the two violent incidents that had happened a few months earlier. He started monitoring crime on an app on his phone and training at Front Street Gym, trying to get stronger.
Alice and a victim advocate from the CHOP program met with school officials to make them aware of what Aidan was going through. He was failing several classes, and Alice didn’t think he’d graduate.
Aidan in June 2020
When online school started in March 2020, it was a mixed bag for Aidan. It was a challenge staying organized and navigating the different platforms his school used, but before long he mastered it and his grades skyrocketed.
“In the school setting, I don’t think he felt comfortable asking questions, but in the home setting, he could sit with me or call me and felt very comfortable asking questions,” Alice said. “Because of that, he did much better and graduated with honors. That never happened before.”
Shortly after that, Aidan crushed another goal: He got his driver’s license. He had secretly taught himself to drive; he would wait in the car while his mother went into a store, and he’d move the car to a different parking spot, then act like nothing was wrong.
Aidan had completed the violence intervention program at CHOP, but the civil unrest during the summer of 2020 triggered a trauma response. He decided to re-enroll in the CHOP program, which gave him the tools he needed to move forward.
Shortly before he passed, Aidan was focused on creating samples for his hoodie business, which he called Forever Fearless in response to what happened to him.
“I was so proud of him. All of the things he wanted to do, he was doing them,” Aidan’s aunt Marusia McLaughlin said. “He got his driver’s license, he graduated and got into community college. He was interested in art and design and there were dye buckets all over the house. He got really into fitness, lifting weights and boxing. He was finally on his way.”
During this time, he also began opening up to Alice more.
“He was able to focus on what was important. He didn’t want to waste time on anything,” Alice said. “If he felt like someone was doing something that wasn’t important, he’d call it right out, and it was always spot-on. I think that’s what made him a good friend to people.”
Aidan was laid to rest on Oct. 28, 2020 following a funeral mass at Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church. At his service, Alice was struck by how many strangers approached her and said Aidan had been such a great friend to them. She realized he had friendships and connections with so many more people than she had ever known.
“I’m happy he had his own life like people should have,” Alice said. “As his mother I didn’t need to know everything, but I wish I would have known how much he meant to people because it would have helped me understand what a rich life he really had.”
A reward of up to $20,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Richard’s murder. Anonymous calls can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
Resources are available for people and communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Click here for more information.
Aidan with his grandmother, brother and cousins
