Philadelphia police arrest Taamir Cole in murder of 15-year-old Gratz student Devin Weedon
Philadelphia police said they have made an arrest 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.
Devin Weedon was near the corner of 16th Street and Hunting Park Avenue in March 2023 when police say a group of young men dressed in all black approached him and began a struggle in front of a furniture store — just a few blocks from his school.
Authorities say 20-year-old Taamir Cole is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
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.
Police later released surveillance photos of four male suspects in the case and publicized a $30,000 reward available for an arrest and conviction.
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.
The school honored Weedon with a flag football tournament last year and will do that again. He will also be remembered at his class' graduation this spring.
After the deadly shooting, Weedon's parents held their youngest son's funeral and have 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.
