A worker -- who customers said ran the store -- was found shot to death, surrounded by cash taken from the register inside a Northeast Philadelphia store in what police initially called a likely robbery early Thursday, but a source later said may have been targeted.
A woman flagged down a Philadelphia police officer around 12:30 a.m. on July 11, 2024, to alert the officer that a man was shot inside the Frankford Convenience Store along Pratt Street, near Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
"The officer immediately went to that location, entered the store and found a male laying on the floor of the store in the employee section," Small said.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
The unresponsive man -- later identified as 37-year-old Kenneth Kennedy-McLeod -- was bleeding from his shoulder and torso, Small said.
That officer with some other officers rushed Kennedy-McLeod to a nearby hospital, but it was too late, Small said. The man died a short time later.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Police officers investigating the scene found the cash register open and several bills near where Kennedy-McLeod -- known to people in the neighborhood as "Flock" -- was found, Small said.
"I'm mad they did that, whoever did it, he didn’t have to go, he didn’t have to die," a customer who asked not to be identified said. "Nobody should lose their life.”
It appeared possible that "this may have been a robbery that escalated to a homicide," Small said.
However, a law enforcement source later said it could have been a targeted attack.
Investigators found evidence that at least five shots were fired in the store, Small said.
Police planned to use surveillance video from inside and outside the store in their search for the killer.
The incident was one of five shootings that occurred in a five-hour span in Philadelphia Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Entering Thursday, at least 135 homicides have happened in Philadelphia this year, according to police data. That's down 41% from last year and the lowest year-to-date homicide total since 2016.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
