Police have arrested and charged two men in connection with the murder of a boy outside of a Philadelphia public elementary school but have had significant trouble getting eye-witnesses to the crime to come forward with details.
On Feb. 11, 10-year-old Faheem Thomas-Childs was struck in the face in a shootout between two groups of men near the T. M. Peirce Elementary School, located on 23rd and Cambria streets. He remained in critical condition for several days and died on Feb. 16.
Two men have been charged with his murder -- Kennell Spady, 19, and Kareem Johnson, 20. Police officials said that it has not been confirmed that either of the men fired the bullet that killed Thomas-Childs.
In the weeks following the shooting, both Philadelphia Police and District Attorney Lynne Abraham have repeatedly appealed for witnesses to come forward, but to no avail.
"Some people are intimidated," said Bilal Qayyum of Men United for a Better Philadelphia -- an activist group that works in communities to make the city safer. "They feel that in instances like this where there are such violent activities, there could be reprisals."
Qayyum said there was a history of people being threatened, assaulted, having their homes vandalized or even being killed after providing the police with information about crimes in the neighborhood. In 1993, Lashawn Whaley was murdered the day before she was due to testify on two murders she had witnessed.
That incident was sufficient to spark the creation of a witness relocation program by the District Attorney's Office. The initiative promises to relocate anyone who agrees to testify.
"We will relocate you and your family, pay your moving expenses," District Attorney spokeswoman Cathie Abookire said. "Then you will come back to testify."
The office claims that their efforts have been successful. According to Abookire, around three dozen people relocate every year. Since the program started, roughly 2,000 have taken advantage of it and have emerged unscathed.
"No one who has participated in the program and has followed the parameters has been killed or harmed," Abookire said.
The District Attorney's Office's relocation program is independent of the city, receiving funding both from the state attorney general and directly out of Abraham's own pocket, Abookire said. However, the effort is far less ambitious than the federal program -- it does not involve extensive measures such as a change of identity, and relocation is only intended to be temporary.
The program had come under some criticism even before Thomas-Childs' shooting. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, an undated police document suggested a major expansion of the program was needed to ensure a higher conviction rate.
Abookire said that while the program would benefit from increased funding, its successful record meant that it did not require significant change.
"Police had a proposal in mind about a year ago," she said. "I do not know why they dropped it."
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