Tauhid Collins, a 17-year-old Black / African American male from Southwest Philadelphia, was killed on the night of February 15, 2019, in a shooting that left his family and neighborhood stunned. He was known publicly as Tata Chapo, an aspiring rapper with local support and a growing identity through his music. The shooting happened around 10:45 p.m. on the 5800 block of Angora Terrace, the same Southwest Philadelphia street where loved ones said he had grown up.
Neighbors reported hearing gunfire that night, and when they came outside, the scene was chaotic. People who knew Tauhid were screaming for help as he lay badly wounded. Police arrived and used a “scoop and run,” placing him in a police vehicle and rushing him to the hospital rather than waiting for an ambulance. Doctors were unable to save him, and Tauhid died from his injuries after being shot multiple times.
His death landed on a day that should have been remembered differently by his family. His mother, Nikia Collins, had graduated from nursing school that same day, and a photo taken with Tauhid after her graduation became one of the last memories she had with him. In the days after the killing, relatives described him as respectful, loving, and deeply connected to his family. His aunt said he helped his mother, cared for his younger brothers and sisters, and was the oldest of five children.
Two days later, more than 100 people gathered on Angora Terrace for a vigil in Tauhid’s memory. His mother asked that the gathering begin with his music, letting his voice and creative work be part of how he was remembered. During the vigil, balloons were released, a friend sang, and Nikia Collins pleaded for peace. She begged anyone thinking about retaliating for her son’s death not to do it, telling the crowd not to avenge him.
Less than an hour after that plea, violence struck nearby again. An 18-year-old man was shot and killed on the 6000 block of Angora Terrace, only a short distance from where the vigil had taken place. Later that same night, a 16-year-old girl was critically wounded in another shooting inside a home on the 5600 block of Whitby Avenue. Police said at the time that they had not determined whether those later shootings were connected to Tauhid’s killing.
The string of shootings involving young people prompted concern from police and the community, including an emergency meeting organized in Southwest Philadelphia days later. Authorities described the violence as something that could not continue and asked residents for support in addressing it. Tauhid’s death became part of a painful cluster of teen shootings that shook the neighborhood in February 2019.
Police said after Tauhid’s killing that they were searching for the person responsible, but public reports did not identify a suspect or describe a confirmed motive. No arrests were reported in the available online coverage, and there were no public details found showing charges, a trial, or a conviction in connection with his death.
