In the autumn of 2017, the life of a young Allentown man was tragically cut short, leaving a family and community to grapple with a sudden and violent loss. Parris J. Lane, a 19-year-old Black/African American male, was killed on November 8, 2017. At the time of his death, he was working in construction and was involved with the local Youth Building Project.
Details surrounding the circumstances of his death were reported in local news outlets, which indicated that an arrest was made in
connection with the homicide that took place at Hamilton Tower. News headlines from the time announced that Allentown police had charged a man in the fatal shooting of the teenager. The incident was also described as a fatal shooting that occurred in a lot across from City Hall.
The family of Parris Lane was unfortunately acquainted with such tragedy. Several years after his death, in August 2022, his brother Najeer Lane was also killed in a shooting in Allentown. In that case, an Allentown man was convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal homicide and other charges, and another man pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. This subsequent loss compounded the family's grief, as they noted that gun violence had taken two of their beloved members from them. While the legal proceedings for Najeer Lane's death have seen convictions, further details regarding the suspect, specific charges, trial, and conviction in the killing of Parris Lane are not readily available in online sources.
