Family of teen killed in Fourth of July mass shooting speaks out: 'He didn't deserve that'
PHILADELPHIA - As Philadelphia Police continue to investigate the shooting that took the life of a 19-year-old man and injured eight others between the ages of 14 and 24-years-old on the Fourth of July, the family of the Maurice Quann say they are planning his funeral instead of celebrating his graduation.
Quann was supposed to graduate from Bartram High School this month, they say. They received his diploma from the School District of Philadelphia Monday.
They are no strangers to tragedy. Quann lost his mother and three other family members in a car crash two years ago.
"All he came home and talked about was receiving his diploma, he said, ‘Oh I’m making my mom proud, I’m making my mom proud, she’s happy, I know she is," said Yakema Smith. "He was just so excited to get that diploma."
Quann’s family says he was full of life—excited, loved to dance, and loved to plan gatherings for his friends. He was part of the planning for the pop-up party that formed near 60th Street and Kingsessing Avenue on Thursday, and his family says he was getting ready to head home when someone drove up and opened fire down Salford Street.
Philadelphia mass shooting that left 1 dead, 8 others hurt on Fourth of July followed 'pop-up event'
Police say Thursday night's mass shooting came shortly after police broke up a 'pop-up event' that had been moving throughout the city. The shooting left a 19-year-old man dead and eight other people injured.
Charlene Sills, his cousin, says she drove by minutes before and warned them to be careful.
"I hear the shots, I hear two, I hear a pause, then I hear more, once I heard that last shot I took off running. I got down, I proceeded to scream in his ear for him to get up, please get up, there was no response," said Sills. "They wound up getting him out of my arms to help him, I just went into shock."
Quann was involved in several anti-violence groups, including NOMO Foundation.
Executive Director, Rickey Duncan, said, "We were teaching him how to be a safe and successful promoter and turn his vision into monetary gain, but most importantly, making it a safe space while doing it."
Law enforcement sources tell FOX 29 they believe to have the vehicle used in the shooting, recovered in Lansdowne on Friday, and investigators are processing it and pouring over other forensic evidence. They are also looking into whether or not this shooting was connected to a deadly shooting at a pop-up event back in June in Fairmount Park.
Quann’s teacher set up a GoFundMe to help his family with funeral costs.
"This broke me, bad," said Sills. "It wasn’t cool to kill him that way or shoot him down like an animal, he didn’t deserve that, whether it was meant for him or not, please, I’m begging you, put the guns down."