Shawn McKnight, 35, was shot and killed on December 25, 2007, after stopping at the Intocable Food Mart on 60th Street near Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia to buy a drink. He had visited relatives earlier that night and was leaving the store around 7:30 p.m. when he was shot multiple times in what police described as an apparent robbery attempt. McKnight was found outside the corner store and taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 8:00 p.m.

Police were still trying to identify a suspect and obtain a clear description at the time. McKnight left behind a fiancée, a three-year-old son, a four-year-old daughter, and an eight-year-old stepdaughter. Few details about the assailant have been released; anyone with information about what happened that Christmas night is asked to come forward.