In the evening hours of a Monday in Philadelphia's Queen Village, 42-year-old Raymond Lighty, a male resident of Upper Darby, was sitting in his gray minivan on the 900 block of South 4th Street. He was there to either pick up or drop off his daughters. Two of his teenage daughters, aged 13 and 16, were in the vehicle with him, while a third was standing nearby.
Suddenly, a shooter dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask approached the van and fired at least 14 shots through the front windshield at close range.
Lighty was struck multiple times in the head, chest, and torso. His daughters, who were still inside the minivan with him, were miraculously unharmed by the barrage of bullets. Police officers who responded to the scene rushed Lighty to Jefferson University Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead a short time later. Investigators found 14 spent shell casings at the scene, some just inches from the front of the van, a testament to the brutal proximity of the attack.
Months after the shooting, in February 2022, Philadelphia Police identified 39-year-old Nushar Scott as the suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of murder and weapons violations. Authorities believe that Raymond Lighty was not the intended target of the shooting. Instead, they theorize that he was a tragic victim of mistaken identity in what was intended to be a retaliatory shooting. The motive for the original intended act of vengeance remains under investigation. Police have not indicated if they are searching for any other suspects in connection with the case.
