A Pennsylvania Army National Guard member was shot and killed by two unidentified gunmen while she was visiting her family at home in November, according to surveillance footage released this week of the attack.
The fatal shooting of 27-year-old Shaquira McCottry occurred around 11:06 p.m. in the 1300-block of West Wishart Street in Philadelphia on November 10, WPVI reported. Video of the murder showed McCottry walking down the street at night when two suspects ran up to her, firing multiple rounds mid-sprint before fleeing the scene on foot.
One Twitter user posted the video, tweeting, “DAMN They Shot And Kill Some Girl Name Shaquira McCottry.”
DAMN They Shot And Kill Some Girl Name Shaquira McCottry 🤦🏾♀ pic.twitter.com/HzwNs84QUM
— TWIN 💋 (@Beatric87360359) December 8, 2020
The assailants appeared to attack McCottry from behind.
Her family told KYW that McCottry was raised on the street where she was assassinated.
According to WPVI, police discovered McCottry suffering from several bullet wounds. They rushed the National Guardsman to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
“We found 22 spent shell casing many just feet away, some just inches away from where she was laying, which is an indication that the shooter or shooters were firing shots of her at very close range,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told WPVI following the attack.
McCottry’s aunt told WPVI that she had traveled from Atlanta to visit family at home when she was murdered.
“Shaquira– she was beautiful,” Leslie McCottry said. “She was in the military, and for her to get killed in her own neighborhood where she was born and raised- it doesn’t sit right with us at all.”
Julian Upchurch, a lifelong friend of McCottry, said she was much-loved by everyone.
“She’s got friends everywhere,” Upchurch said. “She was one of the nicest people around here.”
Considered a role model for her ability to work her way out of the difficult neighborhood, McCottry was also admired for graduating from Girard College and serving in the Pennsylvania National Guard.
“She did a lot of stuff that most people wished they could do. She was a leader around here,” Upchurch told KYW. “Who would do something like that to a person like that? You could see her. She didn’t bother nobody.”
“She did a lot of stuff that most people wished they could do. She was a leader around here,” Julian Upchurch on Shaquira McCottry, 27. @phillypolice released new video showing the 2 men who shot & killed the PA National Guard member on Nov. 10th. STORY @CBSPhilly @ 430 & 530pm pic.twitter.com/fWj4fhvPkY
— Trang Do (@TrangDoCBS3) December 8, 2020
A $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailants is being offered by the Philadelphia Police Department. Police released the surveillance footage hoping it would help in their efforts to track down the suspects. If you have any information on the men in the video, you’re urged to call the tipline at (215) 686-TIPS (8477).
