On April 16, 2016, four-year-old Tahirah Phillips was killed in a Philadelphia bedroom when a loaded gun discharged and a bullet struck her in the head. Tahirah was in the room with six siblings at the time. Her father, Maurice Phillips, 30, was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and reckless endangerment after investigators concluded the shooting occurred while he was playing with the firearm.

Investigators reported that Phillips initially struck his five-year-old daughter and wiped blood on her shirt before later confessing to the shooting. He turned himself in several hours after the incident. In September 2017 Maurice Phillips pleaded guilty; in February 2018 he was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison, followed by 20 years of probation. A small memorial and a vigil in the Kensington neighborhood followed as neighbors mourned Tahirah.

What can readers in the area remember about the neighborhood or the small memorial that grew outside the family’s home?