On a busy Friday evening on Philadelphia's popular South Street, the sounds of city life were shattered by gunfire. It was shortly after 8 p.m. on September 4, 2015, and many people were lined up for a concert at the Theatre of the Living Arts. Amidst the crowd, a scuffle broke out, and gunshots rang out near the intersection of 3rd and South Streets.
When the chaos subsided, 25-year-old John Green was found unconscious on the sidewalk, having been shot in the abdomen.
Emergency services rushed John Green to Hahnemann Hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead less than half an hour after the shooting. The area, typically vibrant with hundreds of people and heavy traffic, was transformed into a crime scene. In the interest of securing the area and ensuring public safety, police canceled the concert at the Theatre of the Living Arts and peacefully dispersed the crowd of hundreds.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a man jump into a limousine which then sped away eastbound on South Street. Police were able to track down the vehicle at South Street and Columbus Boulevard. A short distance from the shooting, in the 600 block of South American Street, authorities discovered a semi-automatic handgun in the wheel well of a parked car. Less than a week after the fatal shooting, an arrest was made. Tylee Wilbur, a 28-year-old from Philadelphia, was taken into custody and subsequently charged with murder and weapons offenses in connection with the death of John Green.
