In the summer of 2019, a vibrant life was tragically cut short in a North Philadelphia deli. April Coleman, a 38-year-old Black female, was inside the CBM Deli at the corner of Cecil B. Moore and Ridge Avenues on the afternoon of Saturday, June 15th, when an argument broke out. The dispute, reportedly between her boyfriend and another man, escalated with sudden and fatal violence.
The other man involved in the argument pulled out a gun and fired several shots inside the crowded store.
In a cruel twist of fate, one of the bullets struck April in the head. She was not the intended target of the gunfire. Emergency services rushed her to Hahnemann University Hospital, but her injuries were too severe, and she was pronounced dead.
April, a mother of five, had moved to Philadelphia from South Carolina about four years prior to her death. Friends and family described her as a greatly loved and beautiful person, and her death sent shockwaves through the community. Despite the public nature of the shooting and the presence of numerous witnesses, the investigation into her murder has remained ongoing for years. To date, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified in connection with the death of April Coleman.
