Last updated: July 31, 9:45 a.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are investigating an execution-style killing outside a mosque in Kensington Tuesday afternoon. Investigators said the victim was about to head inside for prayers when he was attacked.
Police said Tuesday, at approximately 4:55 p.m. a 43-year-old man was walking toward Al-Aqsa Islamic Society at Germantown Avenue and Jefferson Street when he was shot multiple times in the chest, torso and head.
Responding officers found the man lying in the Al-Aqsa parking lot and rushed him to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 5:15 p.m. Police on Wednesday identified the victim as Raheem Jefferson.
Chief Inspector Scott Small said surveillance camera video shows the victim was entering the mosque for prayer service.
"You see the shooter run up behind the victim and, from just a few feet away, begin firing shots," Small said. "It’s all caught on camera."
Small describes what happened next as an execution-style killing.
"The victim collapses onto the sidewalk, and the shooter stands over the victim and continues firing shots while he lays on the parking lot."
Police recovered 17 spent shell casings but did not find a gun. They spoke with at least one witness. Police have not named a suspect.
Small said the gunman ran out of the parking lot to a dark-colored vehicle and fled the scene. Police believe the car had a replacement or "donut" tire on the front passenger side.
Communicating through the local Council on American-Islamic Relations, Al-Aqsa had no comment. The center houses a mosque and a K-12 school.
The Philadelphia Police Department encourages anyone with information about this incident to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or to send an anonymous tip via phone or text to 215-686-TIPS.
As with all homicides in Philadelphia, there is a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
In April, three people were shot in a gunfight at Clara Muhammad Square, where hundreds of people were gathered for an Eid al-Fitr celebration. Four teens and one adult were arrested.