‘This is senseless’: Slain Penn State student mourned as police work to identify killers

Family and friends gathered in South Philadelphia Thursday night to mourn William Schmidt, a Penn State student they all knew simply as “Billy.”

Spanning three blocks, loved ones and neighbors sang songs and held back tears on the corner of 20th and Durfor Streets, where a memorial to Schmidt near a fire hydrant where he was shot and killed was covered by candles, flowers, and balloons.

“He was my son, my best friend,” William Schmidt, Billy’s father, said, holding back tears. “How am I supposed to watch the Eagles play without him now? I am heartbroken without him.”

Trying to find comfort in the outpouring of love surrounding his son’s memorial, Schmidt said the crowd was a testament to Billy’s life and how good a person he was. But it’s not enough to outweigh a father’s pain.

“I’m thrilled he had such a great group of friends. He was a very candid person who never bothered anyone,” Schmidt said. “But I don’t have my son.”

One of those friends, Gino Russo, can’t even remember life without Billy, whom he’d known since kindergarten.

“Every time you call him, he was there,” Russo said. “Billy never let anyone down. I never saw him walk into a room not smiling and making sure everyone is smiling around him.”

Anna, Billy’s sister, called him “my best friend + best brother in one” in a message on a poster featuring lots of memories and a heart made with pictures of the siblings.

“Being your sister is the biggest honor,” she wrote. “Spending every Eagles game with you was so much fun, and you will always be watching the games with me now.”

Schmidt, 22, was shot and killed just footsteps from his home on South 20th Street early Saturday morning in an apparent robbery attempt. According to his father, Schmidt was returning home after watching the NBA Finals at a nearby bar with friends.

Video captured on a home surveillance camera obtained and broadcast by 6abc shows a man wearing a hoodie throwing a cell phone down Durfor Street. Schmidt appeared to be chasing him and another man, who shot the Penn State student in the chest as he turned the corner.

Schmidt was pronounced dead at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center a short time later.

“This is senseless,” Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson told the crowd standing beside Schmidt’s father and sister, who held each other tightly.

Schmidt was a fourth-semester student studying digital journalism and media at the Penn State World Campus, the university’s online campus. Schmidt’s father told 6abc he was shocked his son chased the two men to retrieve his phone, which was found under a car on Durfor Street and turned over to police.

Philadelphia police are still trying to identify the two suspects, who were also captured in security footage both approaching the scene and fleeing the area following the shooting.

One suspect was wearing a light gray custom designed “KONFUSED” brand hooded sweatshirt. The other was wearing dark clothing and a light gray camouflage face mask, which he removed following the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide unit at 215-686-3334, or submit an anonymous tip by calling or texting 215-686-TIPS (8477). The city offers a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.