A Philadelphia man was gunned down by three teens in cold blood while he was out for a walk, and when police found the man’s body, they made a heartbreaking discovery next to it.
(Photo Credit: Pixabay)
According to NBC Philadelphia, the three teens were playing basketball when one of them got the bright idea to go rob someone at random. After seeing a different man and deciding not to rob him, they saw 51-year-old James Patrick Stuhlman out walking his dog.
Stuhlman apparently would usually walk with his 13-year-old daughter, but on the night of his murder, he had told her to stay home because it was getting late, likely saving her life. As he walked down the dark street on March 12, the father and owner of a local landscaping company saw three teens approach him, and upon running into him, they announced a robbery.
James Patrick Stuhlman was gunned down while walking his dog in Philadelphia. (Photo Credit: Family Handout via NY Daily News)
“At one point, he did plead for his life,” Captain James Clark said at a news conference, according to the New York Daily News. “He said, ‘Please don’t shoot me, please don’t shoot me,’ and they still shot him one more time.”
Following the murder, 15-year-old Brandon Smith and a 14-year-old whose name has been withheld were arrested by police. The teens said they had decided to rob Stuhlman rather than the other man they saw because he looked more vulnerable.
Brandon Smith (left), Tyfine Hamilton (right) (Photo Credit: Philadelphia Police)
The shooter, identified as Tyfine Hamilton, who’s just 15 years old, was still at large and police considered him “armed and dangerous,” according to Captain Clark. “Get with your parent and turn yourself in before we come and get you,” warned Clark during a news conference. “We know where you are.”
Sadly, the teens have all been in trouble with the law in the past, and when police raided a home, where the boys reportedly lived, they confiscated handguns and assault rifles, authorities said.
The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke by phone with Tyfine’s father, who claimed his son was a habitual truant from Overbrook High School and had gone to live with his mother.
The frustrated dad said he didn’t know where Tyfine is now.
“If he would listen, then he wouldn’t be where he’s at,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Cops said the robbery was pointless — the boys didn’t even get anything from Stuhlman before they ran.
“For no other reason than these kids wanted to rob somebody, he ended up losing his life,” Clark said. “His daughter will never see her father again. That is really sad.” [Source: NY Daily News]