https://www.inquirer.com/crime/josh-kruger-killed-point-breeze-shooting-philadelphia-journalist-20231002.html

Local journalist Josh Kruger fatally shot inside Point Breeze home

Kruger, 39, previously worked for the city and wrote about issues affecting some of Philly’s most vulnerable residents for outlets including The Inquirer.

Josh Kruger, left, then-communications director for the Office of Homeless Services at City of Philadelphia, speaks with Jennifer Bennetch, a protestor, at a tent encampment in January 2020.

JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer

by Ellie Rushing

Published Oct. 2, 2023

A Philadelphia journalist was shot and killed inside his Point Breeze home overnight, police said, after a person with a gun entered his home and started shooting.

Just before 1:30 a.m., police responded to reports of gunshots and screams on the 2300 block of Watkins Street. Outside, officers found Josh Kruger shot multiple times and collapsed in the street, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

Officers rushed Kruger, 39, to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, but his injuries were severe. He died just before 2:15 a.m.

Detectives believe someone entered Kruger’s home, then shot him at the base of his stairs, Vanore said. The shooter fled, he said, and Kruger ran outside seeking help from neighbors.

No arrests have been made, and the motive remains unclear and under investigation, he said. There were no signs of forced entry into the home.

“Either the door was open, or the offender knew how to get the door open,” he said. “We just don’t know yet.”

About two weeks ago, Kruger wrote on Facebook that someone came to his house searching for their boyfriend — “a man I’ve never met once in my entire life.” The person called themselves “Lady Diabla, the She-Devil of the Streets” and threatened him, he wrote.

Vanore wasn’t aware of previous incidents at the house but said detectives are actively investigating all angles.

Josh Kruger, second from the left, at the Philadelphia Magazine GLBT Party at the 2013 Philadelphia Flower Show on March 3, 2013.

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Kruger was a journalist and former city spokesperson who advocated for more support for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, including the homeless, people in addiction, and LGBTQ community.

He worked for the City of Philadelphia for about five years, overseeing the mayor’s social media platforms and policy campaigns, and acting as communications director and spokesperson for the city’s Office of Homeless Services.

Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement that he was “shocked and saddened” by Kruger’s death.

“Josh cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident both in his public service and in his writing,” Kenney said. “His intelligence, creativity, passion, and wit shone bright in everything that he did — and his light was dimmed much too soon.”

In 2021, he returned to journalism and wrote freelance articles about the LGBTQ community, city and state politics, and other issues for outlets including The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Citizen, LGBTQ Nation, and Billy Penn.

His “experiences with homelessness, HIV, Philadelphia’s “street economy,” trauma, and poverty” greatly informed his work and writing, he wrote on his website.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement that his office is working closely with police on the investigation.

“Josh Kruger lifted up the most vulnerable and stigmatized people in our communities — particularly unhoused people living with addiction,” Krasner said. “Josh deserved to write the ending of his personal story.”

Outside of work, he wrote, he was an avid bicyclist, Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian, and parishioner of St. Marks Church in Rittenhouse. He lived with his “best friend,” a one-toothed senior cat named Mason.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46873491)

https://x.com/indian_bronson/status/1708897032847442207?s=46&t=qlkvvLXFtKHmad-_jzPxTg

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46873496)

wow

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46873578)

https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1708906625862680679

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46873598)

if kruger used these improper pronouns, i'm not saying he deserved to die, but getting shot is arguably appropriate

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46874289)

LJL tough week for nigger-loving intercity libs.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46874443)

https://twitter.com/JoshKrugerPHL/status/1641534337190608896

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46874876)

https://twitter.com/JoshKrugerPHL/status/1626659883339730945

"Today, I learned there is apparently a "crippling crime wave destroying all cities" according to Stephen Miller, which includes presumably Philly. My house is not on fire and chaos is not reigning in the street. I saw a man get a parking ticket yesterday. My trash got picked up."

https://twitter.com/JoshKrugerPHL/status/1676571872073220096

"Bro speak for your block mine isn't "ruined," the city isn't "ruined," and just because Larry Krasner keeps winning in landslides doesn't mean Philly is a heap of cinders and ashes no matter how much people say. Like the rest of the country we are dealing with upticks in crime."

here he is just a few days ago OPPOSING putting violent junkies in prison:

https://twitter.com/JoshKrugerPHL/status/1708139478785597866

"This mindset is antediluvian and would call for a dramatic expansion of the failed criminalization policies of last century.

At this point, in 2023, it implies resentment of American democracy given society has reached a clear consensus that locking everyone up is bad policy."

LOL, libs. any comment, libs?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46875023)

The Conan in Haiti Pic is probably the ur text of this one but it's very common deflection

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5417568&forum_id=2#46875459)