On the evening of April 14, 2021, gunfire shattered a Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood and left 28-year-old Joshua Butts dead. Butts, a Black father, was sitting in a parked white Ford Taurus with his six-year-old son and a 29-year-old friend next to Harrington Elementary School on the 800 block of South 53rd Street shortly before 7:20 p.m. The three had reportedly been on their way to a schoolyard to play basketball when one or more people approached and opened fire, sending at least 12 rounds into the car.

Shots tore through the windshield, hood, and driver’s side door. Butts was struck in the chest; he tried to drive away but crashed into parked cars at 55th Street and Angora Terrace. His son was shot in the stomach and lower back and was critically injured and taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for surgery. The 29-year-old passenger was shot in the chest but managed to reach a police cruiser for help. Butts was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and died about two hours later.

Police say the Ford Taurus was specifically targeted and that the shooters may have fled in a white sedan with tinted windows. Investigators did not rule out mistaken identity, and no arrests have been announced. If anyone has information about the shooting or the vehicle seen fleeing the scene, please share what you know.