76-year-old man killed while on morning walk in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) - A 76-year-old Asian American man was gunned down on his morning walk in Philadelphia.

It’s a crime that has neighbors shocked and feeling defeated as violence in the area continues.

Neighbors say the 76-year-old victim was a sweet man who always greeted people with a smile, leaving them to wonder who would ever want to hurt him.

Investigators said it occurred around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday when the victim was wrapping up his daily walk, when someone approached him and shot him in the alleyway behind his home.

“It’s cold-blooded. it’s cold blood for somebody to do that,” said Richard Colon, a neighbor.

“We found one spent shell casing from a semiautomatic weapon just a few inches away from where the victim is laying. So clearly the shooter walked right up to this individual and fired one shot,” said Scott Small, chief inspector of Philadelphia Police.

The case now adds to the grim reality that the homicide rate in Philadelphia is showing no signs of slowing down, a reality that has members of the community frustrated and afraid.

“It’s a sad situation because over and over again, we keep going through this, over and over again. It’s hard for us to move forward if we keep going backwards 10 steps, and we got to keep trying. It’s a hard battle, and it’s going to take a lot of us,” said Nasir Shawqi, founder of an anti-violence group.

Police are still investigating a motive for the shooting.

Authorities said there is no word if this case will be investigated as an anti-Asian hate crime.

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