October 26, 2023
Josh Kruger PHL/Facebook
Journalist Josh Kruger, above, was fatally shot at his Point Breeze home on Oct. 2. Philadelphia police arrested his accused killer, Robert Davis, Wednesday night in South Philly.
Philadelphia police arrested Robert Edmond Davis, the suspect wanted in connection with the shooting death of journalist Josh Kruger, Wednesday night.
Davis, 19, is accused of breaking into Kruger's home in Point Breeze on Oct. 2 and shooting him seven times. He is expected to be charged with murder.
Davis was taken into custody at his home in South Philadelphia after he and his mother arranged to have police pick him up, the Inquirer reported.
Police have said Kruger was involved in a relationship with Davis and allegations have emerged that it involved drugs and abuse. That relationship allegedly began when Davis was 15, the accused shooter's family told the Inquirer. Members of Davis's family also claimed Kruger was threatening to post sexually-explicit content of him online prior to the shooting.
Kruger, 39, was shot seven times in the chest and abdomen at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 2 at his home on the 2300 block of Watkins Street. After the shooter fled, Kruger went outside to seek help from neighbors and collapsed on the sidewalk. Kruger died at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center a short time later.
Robert Davis, 19, is accused of fatally shooting journalist Josh Kruger at his Point Breeze home on Oct. 2.
Kruger was an award-winning journalist who also once worked as a city spokesperson in the Office of Homeless Services. After his death, Kruger was memorialized in social media posts from city officials like District Attorney Larry Krasner and Mayor Jim Kenney.
Kruger returned to freelance journalism in 2021 and had been writing for various publications, including PhillyVoice, WHYY, The Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine. Kruger also was an outspoken LGBTQ advocate who was open about his own experience with HIV, homelessness and addiction.
In the weeks before his death, Kruger posted on social media about suspicious and threatening incidents that happened at his home, including an act of vandalism that he said he believed was targeted at him.
Police have not yet stated a motive in the shooting.
