Leonard Blackwell, a 32-year-old Black male from Philadelphia, was killed in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 17, 2019. He lived on the 3400 block of West Allegheny Avenue, and his life ended only a short distance away in the city where he made his home.
At about 2:22 a.m., Philadelphia police officers responded to the 3200 block of West Hunting Park Avenue after learning that two shooting victims had already been taken to Temple University Hospital in a private vehicle.
By the time police became involved, the violence had already moved from the street to the hospital, leaving investigators to piece together what happened from the aftermath.
Blackwell had been shot several times. Despite reaching Temple University Hospital, he died there later that morning. Another victim, described by police as 27 years old, was also admitted to the hospital for treatment after the same shooting. The available reports do not describe that person’s condition in detail, but they confirm that Blackwell was not the only person struck during the incident.
The case appears to have remained unsolved in the public record. Philadelphia police listed Blackwell’s death as an unsolved murder and asked anyone with information to contact the department’s tip line. A Philadelphia Obituary Project entry also directed anyone with information to come forward, and a public comment on that page urged people to call Detective Byard at 215-686-1232.
No publicly available source located identified a suspect, reported an arrest, or described charges, a trial, or a conviction connected to Blackwell’s killing. The public information instead points to an open homicide investigation, with police still seeking the person or people responsible for the shooting on West Hunting Park Avenue.
