On April 1, 2024, at approximately 8 p.m., 19-year-old Christian Disla was fatally shot on the 1300 block of Muhlenberg Street in Reading, Pennsylvania. Responding to reports of gunfire, police and emergency medical services found Disla with a gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigations revealed that Disla was not the intended target but was inadvertently caught in an ambush aimed at another individual.
The assailants—17-year-old brothers Jonielle Cruz and Gavin Will, along with 19-year-old Luis Santos-Cruz—had conspired to attack an unnamed second victim who was entering a vehicle with Disla. While the intended target escaped unharmed, Disla was struck by a bullet later traced to a firearm discarded by Will during his apprehension.
The trio was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, and related offenses. Cruz was arrested in June 2024 and held without bail in Berks County Jail. Santos-Cruz was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in New York in October 2024, pending extradition to Pennsylvania. Will, arrested in November 2024, is being charged as an adult; his bail was denied, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 22, 2024.
The arrests were facilitated by surveillance footage and forensic evidence linking the suspects to the crime scene. Authorities have not disclosed further details about the motive behind the ambush or the relationship between the suspects and the intended target. The investigation remains ongoing as the community seeks justice for Disla's untimely death.
