A 25-year-old Pennsylvania man is dead after a stray bullet hit him while he was eating Thanksgiving dinner with his family, officials said.
Family members told police that Edilberto Miguel Palaez Moctezuma was sitting at a table inside his Norristown home when a bullet suddenly flew through a window and struck him in the torso around 9:30 p.m., according to a release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the release said.
An arrest warrant is out for 19-year-old Kevon Clarke, who investigators believe fired the round that took Moctezuma’s life.
Clarke, his girlfriend — Jacqueline Brown — and two others were kicked out of a Thanksgiving dinner party earlier in the day, according to the release. But after they left, some “alcohol was discovered missing” from the home.
Brown’s cousin texted her about the alcohol, and “arrangements were made” to meet at Clarke’s home and give the alcohol back, the release said. However, when the cousin arrived, Clarke came outside with a gun, and the woman drove away, hearing “multiple gunshots fired as she fled.”
At least 7 shots were fired, investigators said. With the help of surveillance video — and an analysis of the window at Moctezuma’s home — police determined that the shot that killed Moctezuma came from Clarke’s position, the DA release said.
“Mr. Palaez Moctezuma was murdered while eating Thanksgiving dinner inside his home, and to be clear, he and his family were not involved in the dispute between Clarke and others,” DA Kevin Steele said. “We will find this shooter and the others involved in this killing and seek justice for the murder of an innocent man, who wasn’t safe even in the confines of his own home.”
Clarke is facing six charges, including first-degree murder, and third-degree murder.
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