Camille Joseph left Haiti for a better life in Philadelphia. His family wonders why he was fatally shot in Nicetown.
In the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Camille Joseph and his family left the island for a better life in Philadelphia.
Joseph found that in the city, said his sister, Ophtanie. But his life was tragically cut short on Sept. 11, when first responders found the 25-year-old in the parking lot of a bustling Nicetown shopping center suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.
He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Temple University Hospital. Police have not identified a suspect or motive as they continue to investigate.
More than a week after the crime, Joseph’s family members and detectives remain puzzled by the killing.
His family says they cannot fathom why anyone would want to hurt Joseph, a mechanic and a security guard at the Center City bar Time.
“It’s not fair,” said Ophtanie Joseph, who is urging anyone with information about her brother’s death to come forward. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
Sources close to the investigation said the incident began after Joseph pulled into the shopping center parking lot on the 2800 block of Fox Street in his SUV that evening.
Meanwhile, another SUV being driven by a person police have yet to identify also pulled into the lot and crashed into a wall, the source said.
Investigators believe Joseph and the driver of the crashed SUV then got into an altercation before Joseph was shot and killed, though they have yet to figure out why the two parties interacted.
After the shooting, the damaged SUV fled the parking lot along with Joseph’s SUV, which investigators believe was being driven either by a shooting suspect or someone who was traveling with Joseph.
Police were called to the scene around 5:20 p.m. and later discovered Joseph’s vehicle abandoned nearby.
Investigators are now seeking search warrants for security footage from businesses in the shopping center in an effort to piece together the moments before Joseph’s killing and identify a suspect.
Ophtanie Joseph said her brother’s death was a tragedy.
He had built a life in Philadelphia after their family left Haiti, she said, attending Benjamin Rush High School, where he played the tuba in the school band and competed in soccer and baseball.
After graduation, Joseph went to trade school to become a mechanic, following the path of his father, Ophtanie said.
He worked at auto shops around the city and was quick to help out friends and family when they had car trouble, she said.
Most recently Joseph worked in security at Time, a whiskey bar and restaurant on Sansom Street. Ophtanie said her brother loved his job, where he met musicians and local celebrities who passed through the lively establishment and event space.
Joseph was supposed to clock in at 6 p.m. the evening of his killing, his sister said. She later learned that managers began to worry when he never showed up.
On Thursday, Joseph’s loved ones will gather at Time at 9 p.m. for a concert and benefit in his memory.
A GoFundMe for Joseph’s funeral expenses and memorial has raised more than $20,000.
“His life wasn’t supposed to stop here,” Ophtanie said. “He had a lot of dreams, he wanted to have his own mechanic shop, he wanted to travel. He didn’t deserve this.”
