In the afternoon of January 7, 2015, a day before he was to celebrate his 19th birthday, Gregory Burnside III, an 18-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in Southwest Philadelphia. The incident occurred around 2:00 p.m. on the 6100 block of Glenmore Street, just a block from his home. Burnside had just left his house to walk to a corner store to buy a sandwich when he was struck by multiple bullets in what has been described as a hail of gunfire.
Philadelphia Police officers who responded to the scene found him lying in the street. He was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he died from his injuries later that afternoon.
At the time of his death, Burnside was a father to two young daughters and was only three weeks away from graduating from Performance Learning Center High School. He had plans to enlist in the military following his graduation. His high school was so confident in his impending graduation that they awarded his diploma to his father posthumously. Those who knew him described Burnside as a 'free-thinking big dreamer with the determination to back it up.' For a senior project, he had been developing a utopian society.
Despite the shooting occurring in broad daylight, no arrests have been made in connection with Gregory Burnside's murder, and the case remains open. Police have indicated that the shooting may have stemmed from an altercation but have not publicly identified any suspects or a specific motive. Burnside's father has expressed his belief that a local drug dealer was responsible for his son's death and that while there were numerous witnesses to the shooting, none have come forward to cooperate with the police. The Philadelphia Police Department continues to investigate the case and has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
