Philadelphia journalist who advocated for homeless and LGBTQ+ communities shot and killed at home
Philadelphia journalist who advocated for homeless and LGBTQ+ communities shot and killed at home
Authorities say a journalist and advocate who rose from homelessness and addiction to serve as a spokesperson for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable was shot and killed at his home early Monday.
A journalist and advocate who rose from homelessness and addiction to serve as a spokesperson for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable was shot and killed at his home early Monday, police said.
Josh Kruger, 39, was shot seven times at about 1:30 a.m. and collapsed in the street after seeking help, police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. Police believe the door to his Point Breeze home was unlocked or the shooter knew how to get in, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. No arrests have been made and no weapons have been recovered, they said.
Authorities haven’t spoken publicly about the circumstances surrounding the killing.
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These comments are out of control. To be fair though, this AP article is garbage.
The likelihood of this having anything to do with the victim being a queer journalist in Philadelphia is practically zero. Here's some excerpts from the local paper.
Detectives believe Kruger’s death may have been the result of a domestic dispute or may have been drug-related, according to three law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said police investigators recovered troubling text messages between Kruger and a former partner. Investigators also recovered methamphetamine inside Kruger’s bedroom, the sources said.
In recent months, he’d written on social media about a variety of alarming incidents at his home.
In April, he posted that an ex-partner had broken into his home. “The door was locked, so he had somehow obtained a copy of my keys,” he wrote. He had allowed the man, whom he’d known for years “before his troubles,” to stay at his house briefly after being released from jail. He said he was able to deescalate the situation and the man eventually left, and he changed his locks.
In August, someone threw a rock through his home window, he said. Then, about two weeks ago, he wrote on Facebook that someone came to his house searching for their boyfriend — “a man I’ve never met once in my entire life.” The person called themselves “Lady Diabla, the She-Devil of the Streets” and threatened him, he wrote.
The conspiracy theories are strong in this thread. Nobody wants to believe that random acts of violence can happen. There always has to be some deeper conspiracy to try and make sense of it, and to feel like there is some semblance of control in our lives.
Bear in mind a lot of the commenters come from a civilised society, where a journalist getting shot is massive fucking news and implies something about his profession getting him killed
People just don't get shot in modern countries
People just don't get shot in modern countries
Man this is going to trigger the gun nonces...
They can't type and wank at the same time bud
He said modern countries, so America isn't being considered here.
Except for the fact that this very likely had nothing to do with the victim being a journalist.
People just don't get shot in modern countries
Uhm... gonna have to refer you to waves hand to entire country
I think it's part of their idea that everything wrong in the world comes from America, so if they topple the American capitalist system everything will be fixed.
Random acts of violence don't fit this narrative, the fact that there will always be psychopaths by sheer fact of the genetic lottery doesn't fit this narrative, and the downfall of left leaning public figures through no fault of their own or that of some secret cabal of the US government doesn't fit this narrative.
The fact that bad shit will still need to be fixed and/or corrected for in a "post revolution" world just breaks their brains.
It's Turner Diaries logic, "no see, once we get rid of them the world will be perfect!"
yes to all, minus "genetic lottery"
You're not making a very good point for what you think you're arguing for. If anything, you're just confirming 'murica is a shithole.
Well, nothing that was written above makes it seem like this was random. This seems to have been very deliberate, but for reasons unrelated to their outreach work.
Right. In a Philly at least, the vast majority of gun violence is targeted and personal. That’s why so much of it is mostly ignored.
"A specific individual waged a campaign of targeted harassment against a person they knew, for 6-12 months, before committing premeditated murder."
Another act of random violence. Who could have seen it coming.
even the the most generous and trusting reading of this would suggest that the US just selling unhinged people guns is possibly something that could be chalked up the cause of this murder. Permissive gun policies in this country and multiple court rulings that police don't have to take protective measures seriously have degraded people's ability to have control over their lives.
Even if there was no intent here, this "random act of violence" is the result of generations of failed policies.
Selling more guns than people, just to the fully hinged individuals, would still make it really easy for the unhinged ones to steal one.
Investigators also recovered methamphetamine inside Kruger’s bedroom, the sources said.
"Party and Play" (PnP) with meth is a thing and it's as toxic and fucked up as you'd imagine.
If that was what was going on ... I can't say I'm remotely surprised what happened did.