Nassir Day, a 25-year-old Black man, was a security guard known by loved ones as a "gentle giant" who loved his job and his budding family. A former high school football player, he was described as a standup guy who would do anything to protect people. On the day he was killed, his mother, Florence Reddick, learned that his girlfriend was four months pregnant with their first child. Day worked for OPS Security Group, which remembered him as a dedicated and professional member of their team. His mother called him a hero who was loved by many.
On the morning of October 1, 2021, Day was at his post inside an office building on the 5200 block of Old York Road in Philadelphia’s Logan section. Around 11:30 a.m., a man named Wayne Dorylis, 59, entered the building armed with three homemade "spring shot" style guns and a large knife. When Day confronted him on the first floor, Dorylis shot him once in the head. Day was pronounced dead at the scene. His actions were credited with saving the lives of others in the building.
After shooting Day, Dorylis proceeded to the third floor, where the administrative offices of Pathways to Housing, a social services agency, were located. Witnesses reported hearing more gunshots, but no one else was injured. One man on the third floor said he came face-to-face with Dorylis, who told him, "They took my money, and they messed up my life." When police arrived, they cleared the building floor by floor and found Dorylis on the third floor holding a large knife. He complied with officers' commands to drop the weapon and was taken into custody without further incident.
Investigators learned that Dorylis, a resident of Milford, Delaware, had a grudge against Pathways to Housing. The agency stated that he had previously made threats against their staff and had served time as a result, though he had never been a participant in their programs and had not been in contact with them for over 18 months. Detectives also looked into social media posts, allegedly written by Dorylis, that suggested he was on a mission to kill people at the agency he claimed had stolen his money and ruined his life. He had a history of arrests, including for terroristic threats and robbery.
Wayne Dorylis was charged with murder, causing a catastrophe, weapons offenses, and recklessly endangering another person. He later pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, weapons violations, and making terroristic threats. For the killing of Nassir Day, he was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison. As of his sentencing in April 2026, the case is considered resolved.
