WHEREAS, Shortly after 8:00 PM on December 28, 2000, on Lex Street in Mill Creek;
Edward Sudler, 44, Ronette Abrams, 33, Tyrone Long Jr. 18, Calvin Helton Jr. 19, George
Porter, 18, and Samuel Malik Harris 15, were killed, leaving Craig Kilby 37, Yvette Long
43, and Bruce Carter, 45, severely wounded in an abandoned house turned into a drug house; and
WHEREAS, Mill Creek is a small, close-nit community that has lived in fear with the escalation of brutal acts of violence between rival drug gangs in recent months, this massacre being the worse - not only in this community, but in recent Philadelphia history; and
WHEREAS, Despite the escalation in violence, drug sales and abandoned properties, many of the current residents have endured and are committed to winning the war on drugs and transforming their community back to a clean, safe and populated neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, Many unsung heroes dedicated themselves to helping this community cope through hosting community meetings, offering counseling sessions at the local public schools, meeting the needs of the victims’ families, encouraging the community to work with the Police and who now stand by the families as they prepare for the trial process; and
WHEREAS, Unsung heroes who went above and beyond include; Commissioner John Timoney, Deputy Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, Captain Thomas Lippo, Captain James Brady, Captain James Hargraves, Chief Inspector Jack Maxwell, Inspector James Boyle, Lieutenant Michael Morrin and Detective Carl Watkins of the Philadelphia Police Department, Ms. Phyliss Gibson, Executive Director of West/Southwest Victim Services, Mr. Charles Wynne — James Gray Funeral Home who donated funeral services to many of the victims, Reverend Dwayne Royster of Way of Life Ministries and Reverend Terrance Hensford of Ward AME Church who also donated funeral services.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend unsung heroes involved in helping the Mill Creek Community cope with the Lex Street Massacre and who continue to help this community heal.
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