Police have made an arrest in the 2023 killing of a 15-year-old boy who was walking to Mastery Charter’s Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia.
Taamir Cole, 20, was one of the four male suspects who fatally shot Devin Weedon during an attempted robbery on the morning of March 28 near the corner of 16th Street and Hunting Park Avenue in the Nicetown neighborhood, authorities said Wednesday.
One member of the group was carrying a gun, according to police. They approached Weedon, a 10th grader, from behind, and, when he resisted, the gunman shot the teenager in the chest, authorities added.
“I took it upon myself, saying it was my fault because I showed him how to fight,” his father, Gary Weedon, said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference inside a community room at Philadelphia Police Headquarters.
“Maybe if he didn’t know how to fight, and they beat him down, would he be here today?” he continued. “No, they got a shock of they life. They jumped on somebody who knew how to hold his hands, and he handled his business.”
Cole participated in the robbery attempt, but he was not the shooter, investigators said. Police said they are getting closer to identifying the three other suspects.
“We will not stop,” Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters. “We will continue to go after those individuals who take the lives of our young people.”
Cole has been charged with murder and conspiracy, though District Attorney Larry Krasner said more charges could be added. His defense counsel was not listed on court records Wednesday.
Authorities said Cole has been in custody since April 2023, when he was apprehended and charged in connection with a robbery that happened the night before Weedon was killed. Police believe he and the other suspects may have been involved in a robbery spree in the area of Broad Street and Hunting Park Avenue.
“These were robbers,” Krasner said. “They were robbing people, and they were willing to do anything if that robbery went a certain direction.”
He pleaded guilty in the robbery and was sentenced last week to 3 to 9 years in prison, according to court documents. Cole is also now being held without bail, pending further proceedings in the murder case.
“Devin was somebody who was doing the right thing,” said City Councilmember Cindy Bass, whose district includes Simon Gratz. “He was going to school. He wasn’t bothering anybody. He wasn’t doing anything that he wasn’t supposed to be doing.”
Weedon enjoyed playing football at Gratz and came from a large family, officials added.
“It’s hard when you got a son who makes you so proud as a dad,” Gary Weedon said as tears welled in his eyes. “And then one minute, you hug him and say you love him; and next minute, you get a phone call saying he was shot.”
