Philadelphia man shot 21 times in case of mistaken identity; killer still at large

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A trip to the corner store turned deadly for a man headed to work.

The family of James Marcus Taylor, or "Jay" as his friends knew him, say he was not one for the spotlight.

"He's a quiet person," said Taylor's mother, Bernadette Tanner. "James is always there, even though he's quiet. You know he's there, like we may be at a gathering, you don't hear him but if you look over he's sitting on the steps."

They also say he loved food.

"His favorite thing was to feed people. So if you were around Jay you were going to eat," his sister Alicia Tanner recalled.

Just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, Taylor was on his way to work. He was walking down the 5400 block of Akron Street in Philadelphia's Frankford section.

"Someone called him last minute, 'Can you cover this shift for me?'" recalled his mother. "And the kind of guy he was, 'Sure I got you, no problem.'"

Taylor stopped outside a corner store. That's when police say a gunman came up to the 29-year-old and opened fire 21 times.

Taylor was hit multiple times and died at the hospital.

"Talking to the detectives, they said it was clearly mistaken identity," said Bernadette. "It wasn't for him, he was not the intended target."

The City of Philadelphia is offering up $20,000 in reward money for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

All you have to do is call the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.

All calls will remain anonymous.