Site last updated: Monday, November 25, 2024

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Man shot to death outside mosque as he headed to pray was a 43-year-old Philadelphia resident

A vehicle sits in the parking lot of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, in North Philadelphia, on Wednesday. A man shot and killed outside the Philadelphia mosque where he was headed for a prayer service was identified by police on Wednesday as a 43-year-old resident of the city. The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

PHILADELPHIA — A man shot and killed outside the Philadelphia mosque where he was headed for a prayer service was identified by police on Wednesday as a 43-year-old resident of the city.

Police and the district attorney's office said they had no new information about what motivated a man in dark clothing to run up to Raheem Jefferson late Tuesday afternoon and fire at least 17 rounds from a few feet away.

Police Chief Inspector Scott Small has said Jefferson was shot in the head and torso by a large-caliber, semiautomatic weapon.

The shooting took place in a parking lot near the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society. The Associated Press left voicemail messages seeking comment at the mosque.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said Wednesday that it had no new information about a possible motive.

Jefferson was with another man when he was shot, according to Small, who said surveillance video shows Jefferson collapsing on a sidewalk and the shooter running to a dark-colored sedan that may have had a small replacement tire on its front passenger's side. Jefferson died a short time later at a hospital.

The parking lot of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society is shown, in North Philadelphia, Wednesday. A man shot and killed outside the Philadelphia mosque where he was headed for a prayer service was identified by police on Wednesday as a 43-year-old resident of the city. The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

More in Pennsylvania News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS