20-year-old Linwood Bowser was gunned down at the corner of 28th and Jefferson streets on May 2nd.
No one knows who killed him or why.
But police could have had a reliable eyewitness, one on a utility pole. A police surveillance camera could have seen it all, but the camera wasn't working.
Bowser's mother, Vonda, says none of his so-called friends who witnessed the shooting are talking.
So, the Philadelphia police camera could have been the key to a breakthrough.
"Another thing that hurts is the cameras, if the cameras were working they would have had the culprit by now. Those cameras have been up for months, months, and they're not working," Vonda said.
Sadly, this is not an isolated case.
In an exclusive investigation last August, Action News revealed that dozens of the city's police cameras weren't working.
Many of them are even covered with bags.
Back then, we were told the city was still on track to have 250 cameras up and running by October; that goal passed 9 months ago.
Today, the city has 207 cameras installed in high crime areas, but only 151 of them are working.
The police say only Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison can explain the delay, but he declined our requests for an interview.
Without video evidence, Vonda Bowser has turned to the Citizen's Crime Commission for help, offering a $1,000 reward for tips.
A working camera wouldn't have saved Linwood Bowser's life, but, at least, his mother might have seen his killers brought to justice.
"He was 20-years-old, always smiling, always respectful, wanted to help, loved his family," Vonda said.
Action News has learned of at least one more camera that is now working, the one at 28th and Jefferson that could have seen Linwood Bowser's attackers. It was hooked up shortly after he was killed.
To contact Citizen's Crime Commission, call 215-546-TIPS.
