Piere Burbage, a 29-year-old Black male from Philadelphia, was killed on August 31, 2016, in the Mantua section of the city. That evening, he was on the steps or porch area of the Mantua Haverford Community Center, also described in some reports as the Mantua Haverford Early Morning Center, on the 600 block of North 39th Street. His young son was with him nearby when the violence unfolded, turning an ordinary moment outside a neighborhood community center into a fatal shooting witnessed by
people close to the scene.
Police said the shooting happened around 8:26 p.m. Officers arrived and found Burbage suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Reports said he had been struck in the chest, left arm, and lower back after the gunman fired three shots. One bullet reportedly hit the door of the community center. Burbage was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, with one report placing the time of death at 8:56 p.m. His son was not physically injured, but police said the child may have witnessed his father’s murder.
Investigators later described surveillance video that showed Burbage arguing with the suspect before the shooting. The argument appeared to escalate quickly, and police said the gunman opened fire while Burbage was standing on the steps. At first, the shooter was unidentified, no weapon had been recovered, and police said they were still trying to determine the motive. The early public description of the case centered on the horror of a father being shot down outside a community building while his child was close by.
Within a week, Philadelphia police announced an arrest. Muhammad Johnson, 28, of Pratt Street, was taken into custody without further incident. Police identified him as the suspect in Burbage’s killing and said he had been charged with murder, violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, and related offenses. Some reports stated that detectives believed Johnson gunned Burbage down outside the community center after the argument captured on surveillance footage.
Online sources located for this synopsis reported Johnson’s arrest and the charges filed against him, but they did not provide confirmed details of a conviction, trial outcome, sentence, or punishment. No reliable online source found in this review established that Johnson was convicted or sentenced in connection with Piere Burbage’s death.
