In the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, on the evening of Sunday, September 11, 2022, a 17-year-old Black female named Teryn Johnson was walking her dog with a friend. As they walked along the 5300 block of Horrocks Street, they noticed a gray Dodge Challenger that appeared to be following them. Shortly before 9 p.m., a man exited the car, ran across the street, and crouched behind a parked van. He then emerged and fired multiple shots, striking Teryn in the chest.
Philadelphia Police officers responded to the scene and transported her to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators quickly determined that Teryn was specifically targeted. The investigation into her death revealed a tragic motive. Prosecutors allege that Teryn's 20-year-old boyfriend, Halim Evans, had been pressuring her to have an abortion. Teryn, who was nine weeks pregnant, had initially made an appointment but ultimately decided not to go through with the procedure. When Evans discovered she was still pregnant, he allegedly hired his cousins, 21-year-old Qasim Pointer and Jamel King, to kill her. On the night of the shooting, Evans reportedly FaceTimed Teryn to learn her location and then shared that information with Pointer and King, who were waiting in a stolen vehicle. Surveillance footage showed the car following Teryn before Pointer got out and shot her twice in the back.
In March 2023, a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, along with a Montgomery County SWAT team, arrested Halim Evans and Jamel King at a hotel in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Qasim Pointer was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Newark, Delaware, in August of the same year. All three men were taken into custody without incident. They are facing charges of murder and first-degree murder of an unborn child. In October 2024, a judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the case against Evans, Pointer, and King to proceed to trial.
