William Perry became overwhelmed with emotion as he spoke about his son Eric, who was gunned down just feet away from his home in Philadelphia’s Logan neighborhood.
“He truly didn’t deserve this,” Perry said while fighting back tears. “He truly didn’t. He was not that kind of kid.”
Ambition and hardworking was the kind of kid Eric Perry was. He recently graduated from Post University in Connecticut with a degree in sports management after earning an academic scholarship.
“We never had a problem with him at all,” his father told NBC10. “All through school, everything. Even through high school, never.”
Eric, 22, had left a bar early Monday morning and was ready to meet up with his girlfriend who was waiting at his house. As he arrived in the driveway of his home on the 5300 block of North 6th Street around 2 a.m., a gunman opened fire. Perry was struck multiple times.
“I just looked out the window and I seen him laying on the ground and he wasn’t moving,” Tim Montgomery, a neighbor, told NBC10. “And they were trying to resuscitate him.”
Neighbors found Eric suffering from gunshot wounds to his back in the driveway. They tried saving him but he later died from his injuries.
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“I appreciate them for doing what they did and tried to do,” William Perry said. “You can’t ask for more. They did all they could do.”
The young man’s killer remains on the loose and police have not released a description.
William Perry believes the gunman targeted his son but doesn’t think robbery was a motive. Eric’s new car, wallet and cellphone were not taken during the shooting.
Police continue to investigate. Meanwhile, all Eric’s family can do is hold onto the memories and hope for justice.
“I can’t believe I won’t see my son no more,” he said.
If you have any information on the shooting, please call Philadelphia Police.
