Family of Rachel King, a Philadelphia teacher killed in a Dunkin’ drive-thru shooting, hopes for ‘swift justice’

Nearly a week after Rachel King, a popular teacher at a Philadelphia charter school, was shot to death as she sat with her son in a Dunkin’ drive-thru in Cheltenham, authorities are still searching for her killer as her family hopes for swift justice.

King, 35, of Elkins Park, was shot and killed in front of her 11-year-old son, Jalen, in what authorities are calling a “targeted murder.”

The shooter tailed King in a light-colored sedan before parking near the drive-thru, then walked over to King’s SUV and shot her several times before fleeing, authorities said. No arrests had been made, and authorities say they do not know the motive for the crime, which they have described as deliberate and calculated.

As King’s family makes funeral arrangements, they are reeling from their loss and pushing for King’s killer to be brought to justice.

”We’re praying for swift justice,” her father, Allen King Jr., said Monday. “Because there are consequences to actions and behaviors. … And we want justice as it is described by the laws of our land, to be in full effect.”

King’s brother, Matt, 28, called the crime “heinous” and said he could not fathom why anyone would want to hurt his sister.

“Where is this killer?” he asked. “... We need to find out who this person is.”

King’s father, a pastor, said he had counseled many members of his church through mourning and grief, but nothing prepared him for the loss of his daughter.

“This is uncharted waters for me,” he said. “I have two college degrees. But I never took a course in how to deal with tragedy. So it’s every day. Every half a day. Every hour, from minute to minute, it’s a challenge. The pain is indescribable.”

King was on the way to take her son to violin practice around 7:30 a.m. on the morning she was killed, her father said.

King had raised Jalen, an only child, on her own as a single mom, with the help of her family, her father and brothers said.

“If I were not her father, I would have marveled and been amazed at the tremendous job she did as a mom,” Allen King Jr. said.

King’s death has hit Jalen particularly hard, her family said.

“He’s struggling,” King’s brother Allen King III said of his nephew. “He’s talking, he’s eating, but it’s shock. He’s carrying around a picture of his mother, my sister, everywhere he goes. Won’t let it go.”

King’s family described her as upbeat, bright, and funny, with a “knee-slapping” sense of humor. She was devoted to her family, especially Jalen, they said, and she adored her students at Grover Cleveland Mastery Charter School, where she had taught for 10 years, most recently as a history teacher for seventh and eighth graders.

“Rachel was loved by so many people. Her energy was ‘I’m going to make sure you love me,’” her brother Matt said. “To know Rachel is to love Rachel.”

Beyond her family, King is mourned by students and colleagues at Mastery Charter, where school officials say she was one of the students’ favorite teachers. She often stayed after school to mentor students, her brother Allen said, and some would come back to visit her classroom years later.

“There were kids who came back from 10 years ago to see Ms. King,” her brother said. “Do you know the kind of impact you have to have on someone’s life in fifth grade for them to come back 10 years later to see the teacher? Not to see the school, just the teacher.”

Last week, King’s family, friends, coworkers, and students held a balloon release ceremony in her honor at the school.

“We are devastated by the loss of an extraordinary teacher, who spent the last 10 years working with our students and their families,” the school said in a statement.

On the school’s Instagram, principal Max Tartar wrote, “Ms. King represented the best of what we set out to be every day for our students. … To have been taught by Rachel was to forever be ‘Ms. King’s Favorite Student.’”

Police continue to investigate the shooting that took King’s life. They are searching for the vehicle the shooter was driving — a light-colored sedan that appeared to be a Ford or Mercury. And they are asking for the public’s help in identifying the gunman, who was described as having a thin build, wearing light-colored pants, and a dark hooded sweatshirt that obscured his face in surveillance video captured from nearby businesses.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Cheltenham Township Police Department at 215-885-1600 Ext. 400) or Montgomery County Detectives at 610-226-5553. Tipsters may also call the Montgomery County Detective Tip Line at 610-278-DOIT (3648), and anonymous text tips can be submitted using MontcoCrimeTips on the STOPit! app.

Her family, meanwhile, is planning a funeral, to be held Saturday at Salem Baptist Church of Abington. The viewing is at 8 a.m., with a funeral service to follow at 10 a.m.

The gathering will be at once mournful and celebratory, honoring a life that her father described in this way: “She impacted so many lives. Certainly more than we even dared imagine until this tragedy has occurred. And while my daughter was not famous — she didn’t have great notoriety throughout the land or throughout the world — she wasn’t famous. But she was great. She was great.”