PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Police Officer Edwenna Ferguson remembered a son whom she was proud of, as she spoke the day after he was shot and killed near Temple University Hospital.
Police say Hyram Hill was shot at least eight times at about 4:30 a.m. Monday during a robbery at North Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue.
He died a short time later.
Ferguson, a 17-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, said how proud she was of her son, who graduated from West Catholic Prep and played college football before landing at Cheyney University.
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“He wrote his own story. It didn’t end the way that I wanted it to end or the way he wanted it to end," said Ferguson. "But it was his story and he wrote it.”
Hill was taking a break from school and working with troubled teens in Newcastle, Delaware. His family said he had a baby girl on the way, and his longtime goal was to play in the NFL.
“There’s nothing I can say bad about that boy," said Ferguson.
"He did everything to put a smile on my face. Do you know how many 24-year-olds you can find out here without one tattoo? But it made me smile."
Ferguson made a plea for family and friends to not seek revenge on his killers.
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"I want everybody to stand down. Let [people doing] my job do their job," she said.
“There are so many people out here who just want a name for themselves. They do things. They don’t think about the consequence.”
Police are looking for what appears to be two suspects, one of whom had a gun.
His mother said Hill had a license to carry a gun. Police believe it was stolen.
A $30,000 reward for information leading to arrests is being offered.
