On the night of March 12, 2023, a dispute that began at a vigil in Scranton, Pennsylvania, escalated and ended with the death of 27-year-old David John Deshler. Deshler, a Scranton High School graduate and a personal care assistant at St. Joseph’s Center, was shot in the back of the head while walking down Schultz Court near Mulberry Street and was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center, where he died on March 13, 2023. He was a father to three children, Isabella, Josiah, and Theodore, and his life was extended through organ donation.

Prosecutors say the shooting followed an argument earlier that evening between Jonathan Lance Smith and Freddy Mealing. After that dispute, Smith contacted Travis Lanzo, David Gaskins, and Noah Ortiz; those men returned to the area in two vehicles and, according to the prosecuting Deputy District Attorney, Lanzo shot Deshler in what was described as an act of target practice. It remains unclear why Deshler was targeted in a dispute that appeared to involve others. Law enforcement agencies, including the Scranton Police Department and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force, later collaborated on the investigation and took multiple people into custody.

Did anyone in Scranton know Deshler or see activity on Schultz Court that night that might help clarify why he was targeted?