In the early morning hours of January 24, 2022, Hyram Hill, a 24-year-old male, was shot and killed in what authorities believe was a targeted attack in North Philadelphia. The son of a 17-year veteran Philadelphia police officer, Edwenna Ferguson, Hill had just finished his shift as a bouncer and was on his way home. At approximately 4:40 a.m., after making a stop at a mini-mart on the 1400 block of West Allegheny Avenue, he was approached by two men.
While on the phone with his
girlfriend, one of the assailants engaged Hill in a brief conversation before abruptly shooting him through his jacket pocket. As Hill tried to flee, he encountered the second attacker, who also opened fire. Hill collapsed in the street after being shot multiple times. The suspects then went through his pockets, stealing his legally registered handgun and his phone before escaping in a stolen Kia Forte. Hill was transported to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. At the time of his death, he was expecting a child with his girlfriend.
The investigation into Hill's murder led police to release surveillance footage of the two suspects. In a strange turn of events, investigators realized that officers had interacted with the suspects just 15 minutes before the shooting while responding to a nearby domestic incident. The encounter was captured on police body cameras, providing a clear image of one of the men. A reward of $30,000 was offered for information leading to an arrest.
Nearly three months later, on April 22, 2022, one of the suspects, 23-year-old Levar Turner Jr., surrendered to the police. He was subsequently charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, robbery, and other related offenses. The day after the murder, Turner had been in court for a separate 2020 gun charge and received three years of probation. A few days after that, he was arrested on another gun charge and was released after posting bail. The second suspect in Hyram Hill's murder remains at large.
