'They took him from us': Philadelphia mom on mission to bring son's killer to justice

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Albert Lee was among the more than 30 people who were shot in Philadelphia over the July 4 holiday weekend.

On July 5, someone shot him repeatedly in the head and torso along the 1300 block of South 17th Street, in the city's Point Breeze section.

His mom, Oddess Blocker, says what haunts her most is that she has no idea who could've done such a thing, or why.

"He was not a part of any beefs or gangs. He was just a lovable child. He loved his family. He loved his mom and his dad and it broke our hearts that they took him from us," Blocker said.

Lee, 27, was one of the nine who died from the violence.

Since that day, his mother has been on a social media campaign to keep her son's murder in the spotlight until the person responsible is arrested.

"These murders are going unsolved or no one's being brought in and I just feel like it's horrible. It's alarming the rate of young men being killed in Philadelphia right now," Oddess Blocker said.

Meanwhile, Blocker said her son, affectionately known as Albe, was a wonderful young man. Lee was a Kutztown University graduate who was in the process of entering the local electrician's union.

The Action News Data Journalism Team has confirmed more than 1,000 people have been shot in Philadelphia in 2020. That's a 33% increase over this time last year.

So far, there have been more than 240 homicides this year.

Blocker said her social media posts about her son's murder will continue to make sure Albe's death does not simply fade into a statistic, and to hopefully ensure that the gunman is brought to justice.

"You took a precious life from us. Albe was so amazing. He was like the joy of our world and it's heartbreaking they did that to him in the way it was done. It's heartbreaking," she said.