(RepublicanDaily.org) – The family of an 88-year-old Air Force veteran are both stunned and baffled over what appears to be a premeditated act of murder against their loved one.
Richard Butler had just dropped off his girlfriend at her home in West Philadelphia and was just sitting inside his Hyundai Santa Fe when a man approached him, shooting him twice in the chest. Butler did not die on the spot and attempted to flee by driving away, but his injuries did not let him get far. He crashed into a nearby plant box and came to a stop on the sidewalk.
Police are still looking for the shooter, who has yet to be identified. He was caught on footage from nearby security cameras show him waiting in his own car, a silver sedan, at the intersection near the scene of the crime. He stayed in the vehicle for some time before going down and approaching Butler’s vehicle to shoot him.
Butler’s murder came as a surprise to both his family and his community. According to the people who knew him, Butler had no known enemies and was even active in the community and was known to look out after the kids in his neighborhood.
“My father never bothered nobody,” his son Orlando told news outlets. “He’s been an outstanding citizen in the community… He’s just a retired military vet,” he added.
Minette Finn, the victim’s great niece said that Butler had a routine he normally stuck to every day. The fact that the suspect appears to have waited for Butler specifically and shot him in broad daylight indicates that the killing “wasn’t a random act,” she told news outlets.
She also agreed that her great-uncle was well-loved by everyone, even by those outside his family.
“If you met him, you loved him,” she said. “Anyone in this neighborhood could tell you [the same] probably.”
Copyright 2024, RepublicanDaily.org
