Richard Napper was a 23-year-old Black male from the 8300 block of Rodney Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose life ended in the early morning hours of Monday, May 25, 2015. Just after midnight, the night had carried into the Tioga-Nicetown section of the city, where Richard was outside a bar on the 1700 block of Luzerne Street. At about 12:34 a.m., Philadelphia police officers were called to the scene for a shooting and found him suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Another account from a close family friend described Richard as an aspiring musician and someone deeply connected to the people around him. Ericka Solomon, who said she loved him like a son, recalled that he usually called her several times a day, but on that Sunday leading into Monday he called far more than usual, enough that she felt something was wrong. Police said Richard was walking with a friend near 17th Street and Luzerne when gunfire broke out. Solomon said she had been told the shots came while he and the other young man were walking, possibly toward a parking lot, though she did not know whether the gunfire came from a car, a passerby, or someone on foot.
Richard was struck in the chest and neck. He was rushed to Temple University Hospital, but he died there that morning. His death left behind family, friends, and a community that remembered him not only for his music, but for the work he had been doing with others. Solomon said Richard helped create a group called C.R.I.M.E., which stood for Conscious Rebels Inspiring Modern Enlightenment. She described the young men involved as students or graduates who tried to help younger boys in the neighborhood, including by taking them to play basketball and giving them a positive presence.
The Philadelphia Police Department listed Richard Napper’s case as unsolved and asked the public for help identifying the person responsible. Available online source information does not name any suspect, and it does not report any arrest, charges, trial, or conviction in connection with his killing. The City of Philadelphia offered reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction, while police continued asking anyone with even small details to contact investigators or submit an anonymous tip.
