Latest news on Elijah Deloach’s assassination – NBC10 Philadelphia

Philadelphia police on Thursday announced murder charges against a man in this week’s Roxborough apartment shooting that left 18-year-old Elijah Deloach of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, dead.

Deloach went to the Henry on the Park Apartments on the 7900 block of Henry Avenue on Tuesday, May 22, 2024, to intervene in an alleged domestic assault, police said.

Ernest Ransom, a police homicide squad officer, spoke about Deloach’s killing and an unrelated double attack on two women in Northeast Philadelphia at about 10:30 a.m. Ransom announced murder charges against Kione Gary.

According to court records, Gary was arraigned Wednesday on murder, weapons offenses, simple assault, aggravated assault and related charges and was ordered held without bail.

When police officers arrived around 10 p.m., they initially found Gary outside the apartment, said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

The 23-year-old cooperated with police, Small said.

“He was involved in a shooting in a fourth-floor apartment,” Small said.

As police investigated the scene, they learned that an 18-year-old had shown up at nearby Roxborough Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, Small said. That young man – later identified as Deloach – died about two hours later.

“We believe the motive is a domestic dispute between the 23-year-old suspected shooter and his … girlfriend,” Small said.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), at www.thehotline.org or by texting LOVEIS to number 22522.

The couple lives in the apartment, Small said. During the argument, the woman’s family members and some friends came to intervene in the argument.

On Thursday, Ransom said Gary’s girlfriend called her mother to alert her that she was being beaten. The mother then called the woman’s two sisters, who arrived at the apartment with DeLoach and another man.

“Then a shot was fired,” Small said.

Police found evidence that that single shot was fired in the apartment’s living room, Small said.

Ransom said there was no indication that Deloach or the other man were armed, nor was there any indication that Deloach attacked Gary.

After the shooting, Gary left the apartment via the balcony.

“For some reason, the 23-year-old who we believe fired the shot jumped from the fourth floor,” Small said. “He was not injured, remained at the scene and cooperated with police.”

No attorney is listed in court records to comment on Gary’s behalf.

According to police, 101 homicides have been reported in Philadelphia so far this year. This is around 37% less than in the same period last year and the lowest total since 2016.