Tyquail Duffy
Two boys from a Northeast Philadelphia public housing project have been charged as adults in connection with the slaying of a Chinese food deliveryman last Thursday night near their home.
The reason that an apparent robbery attempt resulted in alleged murder remains unclear. Philadelphia police said on Monday that Shamir Walker, 14, and Tyquail Duffy, 15, both of the 500 block of Hill Creek Circle in the Hill Creek Apartments, stole nothing from the victim, Rendong Zheng, 49, of the 400 block of N. 10th St. in the city’s Chinatown section.
Walker, the alleged shooter, has been charged with murder, robbery, conspiracy and related offenses, while Duffy has been charged with aggravated assault, intimidation, terroristic threats, weapons violations and related offenses.
Police said the shooting occurred at about 10:37 p.m. on the 500 block of Hill Creek Park inside the same public housing project. Zheng was making a food delivery for the New China Restaurant, at 5815 Rising Sun Ave., when the defendants approached him and tried to rob him at gunpoint, police said. Zheng, who was in a car, fled the area but not before the defendants fired 12 shots, striking Zheng once in the shoulder. Police did not say if both teens fired or just Walker.
Zheng lost control of his car around the corner on the 500 block of Adams Ave., where he reportedly crossed a grassy median strip, crashed through a fence and struck a pole. Philadelphia Fire Department members went to the crash scene and took Zheng to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he died at 11 p.m. Police did not specify if he died from the gunshot wound or crash-related injuries.
Walker and Duffy had fled the shooting scene by the time patrol officers got there. The police department credited the investigative work of homicide detectives for identifying the suspects and capturing them. Investigators recovered shell casings from the shooting scene, but police did not say if the weapons involved were recovered.
Walker is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 13. He remains in custody at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center without bail. Under state law, he is ineligible for bail because he is charged with a capital offense. Duffy is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 14. He remained in police custody on Tuesday. Bail had been set at $250,000. ••
Shamir Walker
