November 06, 2026
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Lansdowne police have issued an arrest warrant for Amir Eskridge, who is charged in the fatal shooting of Richard DeShield Jr.
An arrest warrant has been issued for a man accused of killing a Penn Wood High School student in Lansdowne in September.
Amir Eskridge, 21, of Yeadon, has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Richard DeShield Jr. Lansdowne police had apprehended Eskridge on the night of the shooting, but he was released pending further investigation and remains at large.
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"This investigation is far from over," Lansdowne Police Chief Kenneth Rutherford Jr. said in a statement Thursday. "We have made significant progress, but we are not finished. The detectives have worked tirelessly to follow the evidence, and we remain committed to identifying and holding everyone involved in this senseless killing accountable."
On Sept. 8, an officer heard gunshots from the vicinity of 260 N. Wycombe Ave., where two men wearing dark, hooded clothing were standing near the driver's side window of a car. The two men fled the scene and ran into the nearby Marshall House Apartments.
DeShield was behind the wheel of the car, which crashed into a tree a short distance away, near North Maple Avenue, police said. Officers found DeShield inside the vehicle. He was unresponsive and suffering from multiple gun shot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A preliminary autopsy report from the Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office determined that DeShield died as a result of the gunshot wounds.
Officers searched the Marshall House Apartments and allegedly found Eskridge hiding in a basement electrical room. He was released from custody hours later.
Subsequent investigative efforts included witness interviews, forensic examinations, firearm analysis, DNA testing, gunshot residue testing and forensic examinations of multiple cellular devices, police said. Investigators are seeking to identify other potential suspects.
"This investigation has required significant time, coordination and investigative effort," Rutherford said "... We have not forgotten Richard DeShield Jr. or his family and we will not allow this investigation to lose momentum. If you had any involvement in this crime, understand that we are continuing to pursue every lead and we are coming for you!"
DeShield was hours away from starting his senior year at Penn Wood, where he was a linebacker on the school's football team. He had aspired to join the U.S. Army.
His mother, Wanda DeShield, told NBC10 in September that he was the third of her four children, and her only son.
"My heart is broken. No mother deserves this," she told the station. "No parent deserves to bury their child early. My son cannot graduate no more. I'm grieving. I'm a grieving mother. My son needs justice. I'm not fighting for myself. But God will fight for me."
Anyone with information regarding Eskridge's location can contact Lansdowne police at (610) 623-0700.
