In the late hours of a spring evening in Allentown, a verbal argument escalated into a fatal shooting that ended the life of 43-year-old Jose L. Bermudez. On May 14, 2021, in the 100 block of North Hall Street, a disagreement drew in another man, 36-year-old Raymond Bryan Gourgue.

The altercation quickly spiraled out of control and Gourgue shot Bermudez at about 10:30 p.m. Bermudez was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 11:12 p.m.; the cause of death was a gunshot wound and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

If anyone witnessed the argument or the shooting on North Hall Street that night, or has information about what happened, please share what is known.