Jose Aponte, a 34-year-old Hispanic male from Philadelphia, was killed on Wednesday, February 19, 2014, after violence erupted on the 5600 block of North Palethorp Street in Philadelphia. Around 7:05 p.m., Philadelphia police officers arrived and found a black 1992 Mazda Protege crashed into a parked car. The vehicle had been on fire, and firefighters had already extinguished the flames by the time the full scene came into view.
Inside the burned and crashed car were two men who had both been shot.
Aponte had been wounded and was still alive when responders found him. He was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center, but he died there later that night from his injuries. Another man, 25-year-old Stephen Mysyk, was found in the front passenger seat with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by Philadelphia Fire Department medics. The police account describes the case as a double shooting tied to the crashed Mazda, but the available public information does not identify what led up to the gunfire, who fired the shots, or whether the fire started before or after the crash.
Aponte lived on the 2300 block of Hartel Avenue in Philadelphia. After the shooting, the case was listed by Philadelphia Police as unsolved, and investigators continued asking the public for information. The available online police case details do not name any suspect or suspects, and they do not report any arrests, charges, trial, plea, or conviction connected to Aponte's death.
