Philadelphia police arrest Taamir Cole in murder of 15-year-old Gratz student Devin Weedon
Philadelphia police said they have arrested one of four suspects in the murder of a 15-year-old Simon Gratz sophomore who was shot and killed on the way to school in what police described as a robbery.
Authorities say 20-year-old Taamir Cole is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of Devin Weedon.
Weedon was near the corner of 16th Street and Hunting Park Avenue on March 28, 2023 when police say a group of four young men dressed in all black approached him from behind and began a struggle in front of a furniture store — just a few blocks from his school.
Security video exclusively obtained by CBS News Philadelphia showed the moment the fight broke out. One of the people in the group pulled out a gun and shot Weedon in the chest before they fled the scene.
A robbery close by the night before was similar to the attack on Weedon, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said in a news conference Wednesday. Cole was allegedly a participant in that robbery and was arrested in April 2023. He was recently convicted and sentenced in that case.
Police had released surveillance photos of four male suspects in Weedon's case and publicized a $30,000 reward available for an arrest and conviction. Vanore says investigators believe Cole is the man identified on surveillance as "suspect No. 2," the one wearing a Paradox hoodie.
"We are moving closer to identifying and getting enough probable cause for other individuals that participated in this case," Vanore said.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said Cole could be charged with other offenses like robbery.
"The other participants we sincerely hope...will be in custody soon, and they will be facing the consequences that they deserve for their participation in this crime," Krasner said.
The DA noted the other suspects not in custody may have committed other robberies, and that the public needs to reach out to authorities with that information.
Family, school community mourned honor roll student
Weedon, the youngest of 10 children, was a sophomore at Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter.
As a member of the football team, he loved boxing and staying active. He dreamed of owning and operating his own gym one day.
"If he went into a room with 20 people and didn't know them, he came out with two or three people with a smile on his face," Gary Weedon, the 15-year-old's father, told CBS News Philadelphia last year.
He spoke at the news conference Wednesday on behalf of his family and thanked police and prosecutors for their work, as well as his pastor for guidance and prayer.
"You've got a son who makes you so proud as a dad," Weedon said. "One minute you're hugging him and telling him you love him, the next minute you get a phone call saying he was shot. And that was it, I'm hurting."
The arrest does not erase the pain but he acknowledged it's "a little piece of justice."
"I miss my son a lot, but I got a little piece of justice because someone has been arrested, and that one arrested will probably save another child or somebody else. ... that could have been your sister or your brother or your uncle or your aunt," Weedon said.
Simon Gratz honored Devin Weedon with a flag football tournament last year and will do that again this year, the school principal said. Weedon will also be remembered at his class' graduation this spring.
After the deadly shooting, Weedon's parents held their youngest son's funeral and had gone more than a year without answers.
"Somebody make it make sense because I don't understand it," Weedon's mother Wytina Burnside said in 2023.
Mastery Charter Schools provided a statement Wednesday.
"Mastery Schools is grateful to the Philadelphia Police Department and its partners for their diligent work on this case to make an arrest," a school spokesperson said. "We remain committed to supporting our school community as well as Devin Weedon's family and friends during this difficult time."
This is a developing story and will be updated.