TJ Siderio: Vigil held for 12-year-old shot, killed by Philly officer

Vigil held for 12-year-old shot, killed by Philly officer

The life of a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer is being remembered at a somber memorial.

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - The life of a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer is being remembered at a somber memorial.

T.J. Siderio was a 7th grade student in South Philadelphia at the time of his death.

What we know:

March 1st, 2022, T.J., or Thomas Siderio Junior was fatally shot by a Philadelphia police officer. He was 12 years old.

Saturday night, his loved ones gathered to hold a vigil in his honor.

What they're saying:

His dad, Thomas Senior, described T.J., saying, "T.J. was an awesome kid. He was lovable. He always wanted to help somebody. T.J. had a heart of gold, but was just hanging around with the wrong crowd. He didn’t deserve to die and be murdered by a police officer."

Thomas continued, "It affects me every day. I can barely sleep. I’m just stressed out. I was just crying the other day because this didn’t have to happen to him."

Dig deeper:

The friends who mourned T.J. when they were just 12 and 13 have grown up and his dad wonders what he would have been like.

"Where would my son be right now? What would he look like when he tall? Or bigger? Cause he was cute," Siderio remarked.

Big picture view:

The family now deals with the grief every day, as the officer charged with first and third degree murder remains in prison.

"It’s breaking my heart that I can’t do things I wanna do with him. He was gonna be 16 in 27 days," T.J.’s grandmother, Mary Siderio, said.

What's next:

They say all they can do now is remember him.

"It is to keep his name going and let people know what happened to him was wrong. That officer was totally wrong," Mary Siderio commented. "He’s my world and ain’t nobody gonna take it from me."

Crime & Public Safety Philadelphia News