In the Elmwood section of Southwest Philadelphia, a dispute on the evening of December 21, 2017, escalated into a violent confrontation that left one man dead and three others wounded. The events began to unfold around 8:30 p.m. following a domestic argument between Jabir Kennedy and the mother of his child. After the argument turned physical, she made phone calls to male cousins.
Later that night, outside his home on Dorel Street, Jabir Kennedy was confronted by a group of five men. An altercation ensued, leading to Kennedy, then 23 years old, firing a gun. He shot four of the men, one of whom sustained fatal injuries. In the wake of the shooting, Kennedy became the subject of a search by law enforcement, who described him as 'armed and dangerous.' He turned himself in to authorities a week later.
Following his surrender, Jabir Kennedy was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. He spent the next fifteen months in jail without bail awaiting his trial. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office offered him a plea deal that would have resulted in a lengthy prison sentence of 17 to 34 years. Kennedy rejected the offer, choosing instead to have his case heard by a jury.
During the weeklong trial in March 2019, Kennedy's attorney argued that his client had acted in self-defense. Kennedy testified in his own defense, asserting that he only fired his weapon because he believed his life was in danger. The jury ultimately found him not guilty on all charges, leading to his acquittal. After his release, Kennedy expressed a desire to rebuild his life, find employment, and re-establish a relationship with his daughter.
