Jahlik R. Colon, 24, a male from Temple in Berks County, was shot multiple times on the evening of October 1, 2025, on the 100 block of North Eighth Street in Center City Allentown. Officers were dispatched around 5:42 p.m. and found Jahlik R. Colon wounded in the doorway of an apartment building; he was rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 6:12 p.m., according to the county coroner. The killing was ruled a homicide.
Investigators quickly pieced together the moments before and after the gunfire using city surveillance cameras and Flock Safety license-plate readers. Footage showed a 2001 silver Honda Accord linked to Jason Luis Gonzalez idling near the scene; video captured Gonzalez sprinting toward the building just before the shots and returning immediately afterward to the car, which Garfield St. Bernard McLean Jr. was driving. The Accord was stopped on the Eighth Street Bridge at about 7:12 p.m., less than two hours after the shooting, and a 9mm handgun with a live round—consistent with the weapon used—was recovered. A woman and her one-year-old child who were also in the vehicle were questioned and released without charges.
Authorities allege that Jason Luis Gonzalez fired the shots that killed Jahlik R. Colon and nearly struck a second man standing beside him, leading to an added count of reckless endangerment. Gonzalez, 25, and Garfield McLean Jr., 30, were each charged with criminal homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide; both also face counts related to prohibited firearm possession due to prior felony convictions. The two were booked into Lehigh County Jail without bail shortly after their arrests, and preliminary hearings were set for Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
Officials emphasized that the swift arrests stemmed from coordinated work by Allentown police and the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force. In public safety remarks the following day, city leaders noted that the killing of Jahlik R. Colon marked Allentown’s fourth homicide of the year as of October 1. The investigation remains active, but as of these announcements, both identified suspects were in custody to face the homicide charges tied to the death of Jahlik R. Colon, 24, male.
