Samuel R. “Shadow” Castillo Pedraza, a 36-year-old Hispanic/Latino male, was shot in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the early hours of Monday, August 1, 2022. Reading police were called to the area of Locust Street and Greenwich Street at about 12:35 a.m. after a report of shots being witnessed. When officers arrived, they found him inside a vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Reading Hospital, where he remained under medical care, but he died later that Monday night from his injuries.
His death came during a violent stretch in Reading, when multiple shootings occurred within roughly a 24-hour period and local reporting described him as the third man to die amid that burst of gun violence. Authorities and news accounts treated the incident as part of the city’s broader run of shootings, but the available reporting did not establish that his shooting was connected to the other fatal incidents beyond timing and location within Reading. The immediate details made public were limited: he had been found shot in a parked vehicle near Locust and Greenwich, he was transported for treatment, and he later died at the hospital.
Samuel’s obituary identified him as Samuel R. Castillo Pedraza and said he was known as “Shadow.” It described him as having been born in El Coyolote, Michoacán, Mexico, the son of Daniel and Maria Pedraza Castillo, and said his family settled in the United States when he was a child. He was remembered as a member of St. Peter the Apostle Church, a 2005 graduate of Reading High School, and an employee of Colebrooke Enterprises Ltd., where he worked manufacturing American flags. His family described him as generous and loving, and his obituary noted that after his death, his family honored his wishes to be a donor through Gift of Life, with his donation expected to help more than 25 families.
As for the investigation, the online sources reviewed reported that no arrests had been made shortly after the shooting. No suspect name, motive, or charging information was identified in the available public reporting. I did not find reliable online source information showing that anyone was later arrested, charged, convicted, or sentenced specifically for Samuel Castillo Pedraza’s death. Based on the publicly available reporting, the case appears to have remained unresolved in the public record, with no documented conviction or punishment connected to the shooting.
