In the early morning hours of September 6, 2013, a tragic event unfolded inside a rowhouse in the Juniata neighborhood of Philadelphia. Nine-year-old Jake Anthony Harkins Jr., a white male, was fatally shot once in the head as he slept in his bed. The devastating incident was part of a violent domestic dispute that ended in a murder-suicide.
Police were dispatched to the home on the 3800 block of I Street around 12:45 a.m. after receiving a report of a man with a gun.
Upon their arrival, they heard gunshots from within the residence. Inside, they discovered a horrific scene. Jake's mother, Jessica Harkins, was found on the second-floor landing with two gunshot wounds to the back of her head. Miraculously, she survived the attack and was able to speak with detectives at Temple University Hospital, where her condition was later upgraded from critical to stable. Jake's 14-year-old sister was also in the house at the time but managed to escape physical harm by locking herself in a room and calling the police.
The perpetrator was identified as Jake's father, 48-year-old Robert Harkins. After shooting his wife and son, Robert Harkins turned the gun on himself, dying by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found on the floor next to his son's bed with the revolver by his side. Both he and Jake were pronounced dead at the scene. As the sole suspect in the murder of his son, Robert Harkins's death concluded the investigation, resulting in no arrests or trial.
Jake was remembered as a child with autism who had found a supportive and happy environment at the NHS School for Autism. His mother recalled how he had struggled in a regular school setting but thrived at NHS, a place she felt was like a second home for him. In April 2014, the school honored Jake's memory on World Autism Awareness Day by unveiling a bench with a plaque in his name to be placed near the playground he loved.
