Austin Peters, a 22-year-old white male, was fatally shot on December 10, 2017, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The incident occurred on the 700 block of First Street, where Peters was found on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds. Surveillance footage revealed that Peters had been walking with Raymond Torres, a 25-year-old man, for about an hour before the shooting. In the footage, Torres was seen firing a handgun into the air at one point and later racking the slide on a pistol just two blocks from the crime scene.
The prosecution described the killing as an "execution-style" murder. Torres shot Peters three times at close range—first from behind, just below the ear, and then twice more as Peters lay on his back on the sidewalk. There were no defensive wounds, indicating that Peters was unaware of the impending attack. Each of the three shots was fatal. A witness later told police that Torres had spoken about shooting a "white guy."
Torres was charged with homicide while being held at Camp Hill Prison on an unrelated matter. A Lancaster County jury convicted him of first-degree murder, determining that he had deliberately and fatally shot Peters. The jury deliberated for about an hour before reaching a verdict. Torres faced a mandatory life sentence in prison, which was to be handed down by Lancaster County Judge Merrill Spahn Jr. on December 27, 2018. The motive for the killing remains unknown.
