Robel Laboy, an 18-year-old Hispanic/Latino male from Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed in a mass shooting connected to a birthday party at Minaret Temple No. 174, near Fourth and Ward streets in Chester. Although one online memorial lists his death as April 4, 2011, contemporary news reports describe the shooting as happening late on Friday night, April 8, 2011, with Laboy and another teen, David Johnson, dying from the gunfire. The party had drawn a large crowd of teenagers, with reports placing attendance at more than 100 people and, in one account, more than 200 after a mass invitation spread on Facebook.
The night began as a birthday celebration but turned into chaos shortly before 11:30 p.m. when gunfire broke out inside the crowded hall. Laboy and Johnson were both struck and fatally wounded, while seven to eight other young people were injured, depending on the report. Police described the surviving victims as teenagers, many of whom were taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, with at least one additional person treated at Taylor Hospital and released. Family members and community residents later described the victims as kids who had simply gone out to a party, and a vigil at the scene reflected the grief and anger that followed.
Investigators quickly focused on a 16-year-old Chester teen, Kanei Daniel Avery. Early reports said Avery was found outside the Minaret Temple with a silver handgun and was tackled by a security guard near the base of the steps. He was initially charged with weapons offenses, aggravated assault, and related charges while ballistics testing was pending. Bail was set at $2.5 million, a figure the judge described as a message that the violence had to stop. Police also said multiple weapons were recovered from the scene, and early in the investigation they had not yet determined who owned all of them.
Three other people were also arrested in connection with the party and the immediate aftermath. Carlisha Coleman, 19, who had rented the hall for her birthday party, was charged along with Gregory Santana, 23, and Derrick Hamlin, 18. Reports described their charges as including assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, risking a catastrophe, and related offenses. They were not initially charged with the deaths of Laboy and Johnson. Police said witness cooperation was difficult at first, despite the large crowd, and investigators believed many people inside the party knew more than they were willing to say.
By April 15, 2011, prosecutors filed murder charges against Avery, charging him as an adult with first-degree and third-degree homicide. Delaware County District Attorney Michael Green said investigators linked Avery to the gun used in the fatal shooting. Authorities said Avery had the weapon in his hand when he was stopped, and that images found on his phone showed a similar firearm. Prosecutors also said they believed the gun had been in Avery’s possession for weeks before the shooting. CBS Philadelphia reported that Avery gave investigators different explanations, first saying he picked up the gun from the floor after shots were fired, and later claiming a security guard placed the gun in his hand.
The case was complicated by the presence of a second gun found inside the hall near where Laboy and Johnson were shot. That weapon had also been fired that night, but authorities said they were not sure who had used it. Police and prosecutors also wrestled with what they believed may have been the motive. Early reports suggested a neighborhood feud or ongoing conflict between two groups in Chester may have sparked the shooting, though officials stopped short of calling it definitively gang-related. One police official said investigators had information that two neighborhood groups had a history stretching back roughly a year and a half.
The case ultimately did not end in a murder conviction. In October 2012, Avery entered an open guilty plea to two counts of voluntary manslaughter. Prosecutors chose not to pursue the original murder charges, citing problems with evidence and witness cooperation. In January 2013, Avery, then 18, was sentenced to 7 to 14 years in a state correctional facility for youths. Reports said investigators still tied the fatal bullets to the gun Avery had been holding that night, and Avery apologized in connection with the deaths.
Laboy’s killing became part of a larger public outcry over youth violence in Chester. Community leaders gathered after the shooting, and local officials spoke about families being shattered by gunfire that erupted at what should have been a celebration. The scene at Minaret Temple left two young people dead, several others wounded, and a city demanding answers while investigators tried to piece together a crowded, chaotic night marked by weapons, fear, and silence from many of the witnesses who had seen it unfold.
