PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The trial of Tyquan Atkinson, the man accused of killing Nick Flacco, the son of a Philadelphia police commander three years ago, started Thursday morning with testimony from an eyewitness, the defendant’s ex-girlfriend, and a responding officer.
Prosecutors say Flacco and friends were tailgating at FDR Park on March 29, 2019 — the victim’s 20th birthday — after a Phillies game, when two groups got into a fight, and someone called Atkinson. When he got to the park, they say, he pulled out a gun and fired two shots in the air — not hitting anyone — then left.
They say he came back and got into an argument with Flacco, allegedly saying to him, “Good thing Sal isn’t here” — a reference to Sal DiNubile, a South Philadelphia teenager who was shot and killed in 2017 (another man was convicted) — to which Flacco allegedly replied, “F— Sal.” That’s when they say Atkinson, then 19, fatally shot Flacco in the chest.
An eyewitness, a friend of Flacco’s, identified Atkinson as the shooter. And a woman who was Atkinson’s girlfriend at the time testified that he told her he was the one who killed Flacco.
Atkinson denies he was the shooter.
Atkinson’s attorney will open his case with a statement after the prosecutors rest — a strategy sometimes used by defense lawyers. However, he did pepper both witnesses with questions during cross-examinations — challenging the account of how he recognized the suspect. And the defense alleges that detectives forced Atkinsin’s ex-girlfriend to come forward by screaming at her and threatening prosecution.
Families for both the defendant and the victim are watching the proceedings from a different courtroom. Testimony will continue on Friday.