Margie Dillon fought back tears as she stared at photos of her son.
“I’ll never really see him again,” she said. “Just through these pictures.”
Her son Ryan Dillon, 17, was on the 400 block of Hoffman Street in South Philadelphia Friday around 1 p.m. when a gunman opened fire. Dillon was shot four times, including once in the head and once in the stomach. He was taken to Jefferson Hospital where he was pronounced dead about a half hour later.
Dillon’s loved ones gathered at the scene of his murder Monday. They lit candles and consoled each other as they reminisced about the high school junior, who would’ve been 18 years old in two weeks.
“Everybody can tell you a funny story about him,” Dillon’s mother said. “Something goofy that he did to them or for them. He just wasn’t mean.”
Dillon’s parents told NBC10 he was “executed” though they have no idea why. They also said Dillon tried running for his life when the gunman opened fire.
“Everybody that knows me knows that I’m telling the truth,” Dillon’s father, John Dillon, said while in tears. “He was a good kid. He didn’t deserve this.”
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As his family mourned, they also pleaded for help in their search for justice.
“Look in the mirror tonight and know that you know something and just do the right thing,” Dillon’s uncle, Mike Dillon, said. “That’s all they want.”
If you have any information on the shooting, please call Philadelphia Police.
A GoFundMe page was created to help with funeral costs and for a reward to help capture Dillon's killer.
