PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are asking for the public’s help in solving the case of a slain 15-year-old football player in North Philly back in March.
Simon Gratz high school student Devin Weedon was known as a “respectful” young man who loved football and tried to help people in his community. On March 23, he and a friend were walking to school, minding their business, when they were approached by a group of four males as they crossed Hunting Park Avenue near 16th Street.
Homicide Lt. Hamilton Marshmond says it’s believed the quarter attempted to rob Weedon.
“At that point Mr. Weedon resisted the males, and during that resistance he defended himself and a fight ensued,” said Marshmond.
Marshmond says surveillance video shows one of the suspects, dressed in a windbreaker-type jacket with black on top and gray on the bottom, pulled a gun and fired a bullet right into Weedon's chest.
“He was a normal kid, just willing to help,” he said. “He played football and did normal things, and the school and teachers spoke very highly of him, just as how good of a kid he was.”
The surveillance video is clear — and at times there are close-ups of the teens’ faces. “People who know those males will know those males by the way they walk, clothing, what the males were wearing,” said Marshmond. “We really need people to take a look at that video.”
Weedon was one of about two dozen kids under the age of 18 killed by gun violence this year. As with every homicide, there’s a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information can call the department’s anonymous tip line.