A vigil for Kim Jones, the 56-year-old woman who was fatally shot Tuesday morning at the intersection of 12th and Jefferson streets, will be held at the location of the incident Friday at 4 p.m.
Jones, 56, was killed Tuesday morning while waiting for the bus in an attack that police said seemed to be planned. The suspect in the shooting fled west down Jefferson Street. Police have been searching for the male suspect – described as a 6-feet-2-inch, 220-pound man who wore a black and gray jacket and carried a black duffel bag.
The observance will be led by Philadelphia CeaseFire, an organization focused on preventing shootings in high-crime areas in the 22nd and 39th police districts in North Philadelphia. The program, which takes office at 1700 N. Broad St., is partially funded by the Center for Bioethics, Urban Health, and Policy at Temple University School of Medicine.
Members of the organization were seen putting up banners on nearby streetlight and power line posts that read “Stop Shooting People” during the afternoon following the shooting. Quinzel Tomoney, a supervisor for Philadelphia CeaseFire, said the main purpose of the banners is to encourage the community to speak out against local acts of violence.
“The banners are just a reminder of all the shootings that are taking place in our community,” Tomoney said. “We’re just trying to get the community to come out and speak against what’s going on … to be more helpful to the community itself.”
Tomoney added that Philadelphia CeaseFire’s main task is to intervene when acts of violence are likely to occur, in an effort to prevent shootings before they happen.
“The police and the law can’t do everything by themselves,” Tomoney said. “We need the community to step up and be accountable for what’s going on.”
Turning Points for Children, the organization where Jones worked, released a statement from Chief Executive Officer Mike Vogel regarding her death.
“We are devastated by the news of Kim’s death,” Vogel said in the statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this tragic time … She was an incredible person and wonderful colleague who inspired everyone she worked with, and she was part of our family for more than ten years. We will all feel this loss.”
Gina Labrecque, a neighbor who lives a few houses down the street from where the shooting occurred, is an alumna of Temple who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in September. Labrecque said she and her roommates haven’t fully moved on from Tuesday’s shooting – which was a close call for her boyfriend, journalism major Andre Dienner, who left her house a few minutes before the shooting occurred.
“Definitely, we still think about it,” Labrecque said. “Especially since Andre was leaving at [nearly] the exact same time, something could have happened to him … I was very shaken up when it happened … [and the police] still don’t really have any leads on the shooter … which is kind of nerve-wracking, because if someone can do that in broad daylight, to me [that means] they can do it anywhere.”
Officer Tanya Little of Philadelphia Police’s Office of Public Affairs said no new updates have been made in the case as of Wednesday night. Anybody with information is encouraged to call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-3334.
Steve Bohnel can be reached at steven.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @Steve_Bohnel. Lian Parsons contributed reporting.
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