In the evening hours of Tuesday, September 13, 2016, a life was tragically cut short on the streets of South Philadelphia. Angelo Colon, a 21-year-old Black Hispanic male, was fatally shot outside a takeout restaurant located on the 1800 block of Snyder Avenue. Philadelphia Police Officers responded to the scene at approximately 9:56 p.m. to find Colon lying in the street with a gunshot wound to his head.
Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene.
The sudden violence of that night also left another man wounded. This second victim sustained gunshot wounds to his legs and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. In the wake of the shooting, details emerged about Angelo Colon's life. He was known to his family and friends as a vibrant and outgoing individual, someone who was considered the 'life of the party.' He had recently earned his high school diploma and was employed by the City of Philadelphia. Awaiting the birth of his daughter, Colon was filled with excitement and anticipation for the new chapter of fatherhood.
The investigation into Angelo Colon's death remains open, with no arrests made and no suspects publicly identified. His case is listed among the city's unsolved murders, a painful reminder for a family that had tried to steer him toward a safer future away from the dangers of the streets he grew up on. The grief was compounded for his family when his grandmother passed away just 13 days after his murder, leading to a joint burial.
The tragedy garnered wider attention due to Colon's familial relationship with his cousin, the rapper Meek Mill. The recording artist took to social media to publicly mourn the loss of his cousin, expressing his pain and frustration over the violence that plagues his hometown. He lamented his inability to save his family from the very streets that had shaped them, a sentiment that echoed the deep loss felt by all who knew and loved Angelo Colon.
