Ellie Rushing
@ellierushing.bsky.social
Floridian turned Philadelphian. I write about gun violence and the justice system for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The parents of 16-year-old Xzavier Gregory, shot and killed last month in Northeast Philadelphia, want people to know not just how he died — but who he was.
www.inquirer.com/crime/xzavie...
www.inquirer.com/crime/xzavie...
November 17, 2025 at 4:09 PM
The parents of 16-year-old Xzavier Gregory, shot and killed last month in Northeast Philadelphia, want people to know not just how he died — but who he was.
www.inquirer.com/crime/xzavie...
www.inquirer.com/crime/xzavie...
The discovery of Scott’s body, two weeks after she disappeared, came after anonymous tips that grew more detailed with each day, sources said, coupled with location data from Scott’s Apple Watch, and finally, new surveillance footage recovered near the school.
www.inquirer.com/crime/kada-s...
www.inquirer.com/crime/kada-s...
DNA confirms police found the body of Kada Scott, sources say, and new details emerge on what led police to her corpse
It’s not yet clear how Kada Scott died, but a law enforcement source said police believe she was likely killed within 30 minutes of leaving her workplace the night she disappeared.
www.inquirer.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:45 AM
The discovery of Scott’s body, two weeks after she disappeared, came after anonymous tips that grew more detailed with each day, sources said, coupled with location data from Scott’s Apple Watch, and finally, new surveillance footage recovered near the school.
www.inquirer.com/crime/kada-s...
www.inquirer.com/crime/kada-s...
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
More Philly murders are solved. By rate. It’s an important measure and also a product of several interesting things happening. @ellierushing.bsky.social and I dug into the details.
www.inquirer.com/crime/philad...
www.inquirer.com/crime/philad...
Philly detectives are solving homicides at the highest rate in 40 years as violence plummets and tech improves
Still, nearly 800 killings between 2021 and 2023 have yet to result in an arrest, according to an Inquirer analysis.
www.inquirer.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:01 PM
More Philly murders are solved. By rate. It’s an important measure and also a product of several interesting things happening. @ellierushing.bsky.social and I dug into the details.
www.inquirer.com/crime/philad...
www.inquirer.com/crime/philad...
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
Philly landlord sent a gunman to scare a late-paying tenant. Tenant had a gun, too. They killed each other. @ellierushing.bsky.social reports:
Two years ago, Patricia Hall was shot and killed in the East Germantown home she had lived in with her adult daughter, granddaughter, and younger children. (1/4)
A Philly landlord’s scheme to terrorize his tenants into moving out left two people dead
Stephen Wilkins pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2023 killing of Patricia Hall, a tenant he was trying to force out of his East Germantown property.
inquirer.com
September 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Philly landlord sent a gunman to scare a late-paying tenant. Tenant had a gun, too. They killed each other. @ellierushing.bsky.social reports:
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
"He shut off their electricity, ripped out their electric meter and circuit breakers, threw a brick through a window, and even went as far as to remove all of the doors and windows... And then Wilkins sent a man to the house with a gun. And he killed her mother."
By @ellierushing.bsky.social
By @ellierushing.bsky.social
A Philly landlord’s scheme to terrorize his tenants into moving out left two people dead
Stephen Wilkins pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2023 killing of Patricia Hall, a tenant he was trying to force out of his East Germantown property.
share.inquirer.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:41 PM
"He shut off their electricity, ripped out their electric meter and circuit breakers, threw a brick through a window, and even went as far as to remove all of the doors and windows... And then Wilkins sent a man to the house with a gun. And he killed her mother."
By @ellierushing.bsky.social
By @ellierushing.bsky.social
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
Tyree Musier has been in prison for 17 years for a crime he says he didn’t commit. Prosecutors now say his conviction should be overturned.
She says a man paid her $2,000 to frame his friend for murder, and jail calls confirm it. It remained hidden — until now.
Tyree Musier has been in prison for 17 years for a crime he says he didn't commit. Prosecutors now say his conviction should be overturned.
inquirer.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Tyree Musier has been in prison for 17 years for a crime he says he didn’t commit. Prosecutors now say his conviction should be overturned.
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
@ellierushing.bsky.social and I took inventory of how Philly’s year is shaping up in terms of violent crime. It’s a mostly improving situation. It’s also still too high and uncertain.
www.inquirer.com/crime/a/homi...
www.inquirer.com/crime/a/homi...
Halfway through 2025, Philly has the fewest homicides in recent memory
The decrease comes despite several high-profile shootings this summer that left children and teens maimed by bullets. Still, it's progress.
www.inquirer.com
August 6, 2025 at 1:07 AM
@ellierushing.bsky.social and I took inventory of how Philly’s year is shaping up in terms of violent crime. It’s a mostly improving situation. It’s also still too high and uncertain.
www.inquirer.com/crime/a/homi...
www.inquirer.com/crime/a/homi...
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
A devastating account: "A young father who was paralyzed in a shooting in 2018, and who had become an advocate for survivors of gun violence, was among those killed early Monday after gunfire erupted," by @ellierushing.bsky.social and @notesfromhel.bsky.social : www.inquirer.com/crime/azir-h...
Young father and paralyzed gun violence survivor among those killed in Grays Ferry shooting, family says
Azir Harris was paralyzed in a shooting in 2018 and had spent years sharing his recovery journey with Inquirer columnist Helen Ubiñas. He was killed in South Philadelphia Monday morning.
www.inquirer.com
July 8, 2025 at 1:57 PM
A devastating account: "A young father who was paralyzed in a shooting in 2018, and who had become an advocate for survivors of gun violence, was among those killed early Monday after gunfire erupted," by @ellierushing.bsky.social and @notesfromhel.bsky.social : www.inquirer.com/crime/azir-h...
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
This is a highly informative write up by @ellierushing.bsky.social of jurors' reactions to the evidence in the trial of PPD Officer Mark Dial for killing Eddie Irizarry.
Juror in the trial of Mark Dial speaks of how panel decided to convict officer of voluntary manslaughter
The foreman of the jury that convicted the former police officer in the death of Eddie Irizarry shared rare insight into how the panel reached a verdict.
www.inquirer.com
May 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
This is a highly informative write up by @ellierushing.bsky.social of jurors' reactions to the evidence in the trial of PPD Officer Mark Dial for killing Eddie Irizarry.
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
In the end, Mark Dial’s own testimony helped convict him of voluntary manslaughter for killing Eddie Irizarry in 2023, the foreman of the jury that delivered the verdict said in an interview Tuesday.
Juror in the trial of Mark Dial speaks of how panel decided to convict officer of voluntary manslaughter
The foreman of the jury that convicted the former police officer in the death of Eddie Irizarry shared rare insight into how the panel reached a verdict.
www.inquirer.com
May 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
In the end, Mark Dial’s own testimony helped convict him of voluntary manslaughter for killing Eddie Irizarry in 2023, the foreman of the jury that delivered the verdict said in an interview Tuesday.
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
The Rev. Damone Jones builds relationships with Philadelphia’s most troubled children, the teens he says “typically nobody else loves”: those charged with murder.
Many of them have come to call Jones Dad. And Jones, too, accepts them as part of his family.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/crime/a/teen...
Many of them have come to call Jones Dad. And Jones, too, accepts them as part of his family.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/crime/a/teen...
May 27, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The Rev. Damone Jones builds relationships with Philadelphia’s most troubled children, the teens he says “typically nobody else loves”: those charged with murder.
Many of them have come to call Jones Dad. And Jones, too, accepts them as part of his family.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/crime/a/teen...
Many of them have come to call Jones Dad. And Jones, too, accepts them as part of his family.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/crime/a/teen...
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
The Philly District Attorney Primary is taking place next Tuesday. A race of big importance but often low turnout. So this year we took frequently asked questions on the DA race to Anna Orso and @ellierushing.bsky.social to provide answers.
Ask away...
www.inquirer.com/politics/ele...
Ask away...
www.inquirer.com/politics/ele...
We answer your questions about the upcoming DA primary — how the elections works, who the candidates are, and much more.
We answer your questions about the upcoming DA Primary – how the election works, who the candidates are, and much more.
www.inquirer.com
May 16, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The Philly District Attorney Primary is taking place next Tuesday. A race of big importance but often low turnout. So this year we took frequently asked questions on the DA race to Anna Orso and @ellierushing.bsky.social to provide answers.
Ask away...
www.inquirer.com/politics/ele...
Ask away...
www.inquirer.com/politics/ele...
The city’s Kensington Wellness Court has been placed on hold amid judges’ mounting frustration with the city officials tasked with overseeing the program. A supervising judge nearly shut it down, and the judge who presides over the cases called city leaders "fake." www.inquirer.com/crime/kensin...
Judge almost shuts down the city’s Kensington wellness court over mounting frustration with Parker administration, sources say
Wellness court is on pause amid a months-long frustration between the courts and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's team over how the program was launched. One judge called city leaders "fake."
www.inquirer.com
May 1, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The city’s Kensington Wellness Court has been placed on hold amid judges’ mounting frustration with the city officials tasked with overseeing the program. A supervising judge nearly shut it down, and the judge who presides over the cases called city leaders "fake." www.inquirer.com/crime/kensin...
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
Grocery shopping with Larry Krasner for @inquirer.com: www.inquirer.com/politics/ele... Words by @ellierushing.bsky.social & Anna Orso
April 2, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Grocery shopping with Larry Krasner for @inquirer.com: www.inquirer.com/politics/ele... Words by @ellierushing.bsky.social & Anna Orso
Reposted by Ellie Rushing
This is the kind of in-depth gun violence reporting that requires deep sourcing, trust building, newsroom resources, and straight up empathy. Which is why so few people do it like @ellierushing.bsky.social:
share.inquirer.com/49QJcN
share.inquirer.com/49QJcN
How a group of kids from West Philly chasing money and fame grew into a violent gang known as YBC
They started as kids from West Philly just trying to make it out. Drill rap, and the pull of fame and money, left nearly a dozen dead, and others in prison for decades.
share.inquirer.com
March 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
This is the kind of in-depth gun violence reporting that requires deep sourcing, trust building, newsroom resources, and straight up empathy. Which is why so few people do it like @ellierushing.bsky.social:
share.inquirer.com/49QJcN
share.inquirer.com/49QJcN