In the late hours of a July night in Philadelphia, the life of a young man was cut short by a burst of violence. Samuel Cave, a 20-year-old African-American male, was fatally shot on July 9, 2013. The incident unfolded just after 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of 5th and Grange Streets in the Olney neighborhood.
The night's warm air was shattered by the sound of gunfire in a double shooting that also left a 17-year-old boy critically wounded with gunshot wounds to his arms and abdomen.
Cave, a resident of Champlost Avenue, was struck once in the chest. He was rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, but his injury proved to be too severe. He was pronounced dead shortly before midnight, at 11:52 p.m.
At the time of his death, Cave was on probation for a 2011 assault on a senior citizen. The motive for the shooting that ended his life remains unclear to investigators. Despite the years that have passed since the fatal shooting, no arrests have been made in connection with Samuel Cave's homicide. The case remains an open and unresolved chapter in the city's history of gun violence, with Philadelphia police continuing to seek information that could lead to the apprehension of those responsible.
