The above sculpture, Troy Smith Jr., was created by artist Laura Frazure as part of the 2021-2022 Souls Shot Portrait Project exhibition.
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Troy Smith Jr. was all about family. He had close relationships with his siblings and other relatives, and spending time with them was a top priority.
“Anything that had to do with family gatherings—family cookouts, family parties, family dinners, us going on trips, amusement parks—he loved it,” his mother Renee Whitmore said.
In fact, Troy was out with his uncle on the night he died. Troy and Attif Smith were in West Philadelphia in the early morning hours of June 7, 2014 when an armed gunman stopped their car at 54th and Hunter and attempted to rob them.
Troy was shot and killed. He was about a week away from turning 24. Attif survived, but was paralyzed from the neck down. Almost two years after the shooting, in March 2016, Attif died as a result of complications related to his injuries. He was 29.
Rather than getting together for cookouts and dinners as much as they used to, the family has a new tradition.
“What we do now is we go to my son’s grave,” Renee said. “We bring chairs, bring food and gather around. He was a family guy and he’d like that.”
Troy was born April 18, 1991 in Philadelphia to Renee and Troy Smith Sr. He was Renee’s firstborn child and only son. He had two younger sisters and five siblings on his father’s side.
Troy was outgoing and friendly and was always willing to help anyone who needed it.
“That boy was so bubbly,” Renee said. “My son was the type of kid you’d love to be around. He was the life of the party. He was silly. He was such a gentleman and such a sweetheart that I felt like he could’ve been advantage of. But he was always there for everyone. He was always a good kid like that.”
He spent most of his life living in the Germantown area, and graduated from Martin Luther King High School.
Troy was interested in criminal justice and he completed a vocational school program to be a security guard. He was working security at a hospital in the Willow Grove area, but he had a bigger goal in mind—he wanted to be a corrections officer.
Shortly before his death, Troy found out he passed the qualifying exam, which is the first step toward becoming a corrections officer. He was looking forward to going in for an interview, which was the next step. After his death, the call came asking him to come in to interview.
Troy was also looking forward to moving into a house with his girlfriend. They lived in an apartment together, and with the extra space, Troy was going to have his nephew move in with them. Renee found pictures on his phone of different houses they were considering.
No arrests have been made in connection with Troy’s homicide. Renee went to a medium after Troy died, which helped in her healing, but an arrest would bring her the closure she needs.
“I know that somebody knows something,” she said. “I really would love if they would have a heart and understand where we’re coming from. There are a lot of killings going on here in Philadelphia, and you don’t want your child to be next.”
An award of up to $25,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Troy’s murder. Anonymous calls can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
