October 14, 2022
Jon Tuleya/PhillyVoice
Four suspects, including 15-year-old Troy Fletcher, have been identified in the Roxborough High School shooting that killed Nicholas Elizalde and injured four other teenagers after a football scrimmage on Sept. 27. Two suspects have been arrested and four remain at large, including Fletcher.
Philadelphia police have identified a fourth suspect allegedly connected to the Roxborough High School shooting that killed 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde and injured four other teenagers on Sept. 27.
An arrest warrant was obtained Thursday for 15-year-old Troy Fletcher, who has been charged with murder and related offenses, police said. Fletcher is a fugitive and his whereabouts are unknown.
Investigators say six people – five shooters and a getaway driver – were involved in the ambush shooting behind the high school, where football players were returning from an afternoon scrimmage. Four of the suspects remain at large.
Authorities have arrested Yaaseen Bivens, 21, and Zyhied Jones, 17, for their alleged roles in the shooting. Another arrest warrant is out for 16-year-old Dayron Burney-Thorne.
Police have not detailed the specific actions taken by the suspects, but said they all will be charged with murder, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and firearms offenses.
Authorities say five shooters fired more than 60 bullets at a group of Roxborough football players as they walked along the 4700 block of Pechin Street on the way to their locker room.
The sixth suspect, the getaway driver, remained in a stolen Ford Explorer during the shooting. The vehicle had been parked for nearly six minutes prior to the shooting, leading investigators to believe the attack was targeted.
After the gunfire, four of the five shooters returned to the SUV, which sped off and was found in a Southwest Philly parking lot later that evening. The fifth shooter continued pursuing a 17-year-old boy who is believed to have been the target of the shooting, but fled on foot after running out of bullets, police said.
Elizalde, who suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his chest, was not the intended target of the shooting, police said. The other four teenagers struck by the gunfire suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Three of them were on the Roxborough football team. The fourth, the 17-year-old believed to have been targeted, is not a Roxborough High student, investigators said.
Elizalde was a freshman at Walter B. Saul High School, the city's agricultural high school. He played on the Roxborough junior varsity football team because his school does not have one. He previously had attended school in Havertown, Delaware County, where he was still living.
Investigators have released surveillance images of three of the suspects, but have not said whether they include any of the people who have been arrested. Police also have not revealed any known motives for the attack.
Police are asking anyone with information to call 911 or send a tip by calling or texting (215) 686-8477. Tips also can be left anonymously.
