Southwest Philly home invasion shooting victim dies

A father of three shot in the head Monday night during a Southwest Phillyhome invasion has been identified as Tony Harris.

The 50-year-old victim was shot once in the head after three gunmen, who appeared to be teens, burst into the man’s home on the 1100 block of Ruby Street shortly before midnight on Monday.

The men walked into the house through an unlocked front door and demanded money.

The victim’s wife told police that the men took her into a separate room and ordered her to turn over cash. She told them she didn’t have any.

That’s when she heard a gunshot that killed her husband.

The gunmen fled the house.

Homicide Capt. James Clark said police were interviewing the victim’s relatives to determine why the gunmen thought the victim had cash.

Police believe he repaired small electronics in the neighborhood, and that his wife may have posted a picture on Facebook posing with a large amount of cash.

“We do know of that post that was put up,” said Clark. “That’s a possible motive that we’re looking at, but we do not know that definitively. They kept saying ‘Where is THE money?’ That lets us think that they felt there was a large amount of money somewhere in the house. Why they thought that, we don’t know.”

Investigators recovered a shotgun from the porch of the house. Clark said it appears the gun belonged to the victim, and that the suspects tried to steal it and dropped it as they fled the scene.

Harris’ three children, aged 5, 2, and 10 months, were also in the house at the time of the robbery.

Police are investigating whether an overturned car found after the robbery at 51st and Locust streets was related to the home invation. Police found a bloody handgun inside, Clark said it does not appear to be related at this time.

No arrests have been made and police are asking for the public’s help.