Sahmyra Garcia was 20 and working as a security specialist at a Target in South Philadelphia when she was shot and killed on the morning of Tuesday, November 8, 2022. In the weeks before her death she had been living in fear of her 41-year-old ex-boyfriend, Marcus Burney, who allegedly stalked her, threw a cinder block through the front door of the rowhouse she shared with a friend, and had previously assaulted her, sending her briefly to the hospital. She obtained an emergency protection-from-abuse order the same day, but it had not been served when officers could not find Burney that morning.

As Garcia walked near Broad and Ellsworth Streets, Burney reportedly exited his truck and shot her at least 10 times with an untraceable ghost gun. SEPTA police heard the shots, saw Burney trying to flee, and after he crashed, they shot him in the leg and took him into custody. Burney was charged with murder and weapons offenses and later pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, illegal gun possession, and related counts; in August 2023 a judge sentenced him to 35 to 70 years in prison. Garcia’s parents, who describe her as a bubbly cancer survivor, have filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against Polymer80, the manufacturer of the ghost gun.

Are there people who knew Sahmyra in South Philadelphia or saw her in the hours before the shooting who can add details to the timeline?