Philadelphia: Gunman Stalks, Murders 17-Year-Old Girl Who Was Walking Her Dog

Last Updated on September 15, 2022

Authorities in Philadelphia have released disturbing surveillance footage that shows an unidentified gunman stalking then fatally shooting 17-year-old Teryn Johnson while she was walking her dog.

Investigators say 17-year-old Teryn Johnson was walking in Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood just before 9 p.m. Sunday night when she was shot in the chest by an unknown assailant. Responding officers drove Johnson to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Video released by the Philadelphia police department shows the killer stalking the teen and crouching behind cars before opening fire. After shooting Johnson in the chest, the killer fled with at least one other person in a dark colored Dodge Challenger, investigators said. The Dodge Challenger waited on a nearby street corner for over two minutes as the shooting took place.

The shooter — dressed in a dark hoodie and a near complete head covering — initially exited the Dodge Challenger before crouching behind a van. The multi-angle montage of surveillance footage then shows the Challenger pick up the shooter before driving him a short distance down the street, where he again exited the vehicle. At that point, he fired at least three seven rounds at the 17-year-old, killing her.

Officials are offering a $20k reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction, Fox 29 Philadelphia reported. “It certainly appears that our decedent was specifically targeted,” Captain Jason Smith from the Philadelphia Police Department told reporters during a Monday press conference.

“It’s not right, they took my daughter from me, ain’t no parent supposed to outlive their child,” Paul Johnson, Teryn’s father, told FOX 29.

As of Thursday, September 15, the City of Philadelphia has recorded 362 homicides in 2022. That grisly figure represents a three-percent increase over this time last year, a year in which the city ultimately recorded a record-breaking 562 murders.