Wort Ellsworth Whipple III, a 14-year-old Black male, was shot and killed on a SEPTA Market-Frankford Line platform in West Philadelphia on the afternoon of Saturday, May 13, 2023. A fistfight between Whipple and another man on the train moved onto the 52nd Street station platform, where the suspect produced a handgun and fired at least two shots, striking Whipple.

Officers arrived about 2:08 p.m.; Whipple was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators say the suspect tried to burn his clothing afterward. SEPTA released surveillance photos of the suspected gunman and the Philadelphia Police Department has offered a reward; no arrests or weapon recovery had been reported.

Whipple attended Sankofa Freedom Academy and was remembered by family and friends as funny, goofy and protective. His death echoes earlier losses in his family: his father, also named Wort Whipple, was shot and killed about five years earlier, and his grandfather had been a victim of violence years before.

Did anyone on that train or at the 52nd Street platform see something that could help identify the shooter?