I did not follow Josh Kruger on Twitter, though I frequently saw his tweets — sorry, Elon Musk, but I can’t bring myself to call it “X” — because he was followed by twelve other people I do follow. Mr Kruger is a Philly liberal, who occasionally made a point from the left that isn’t bat guano insane, and occasionally made decent arguments.  I have interacted with him on Twitter previously, though not frequently, and wrote about his complaint that Wawa was pulling out of Center City.

But, even if I disagreed with him politically, he’s still someone I ‘knew,’ even if only over the internet, so it is disturbing to read that he was murdered:

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.

by Ellie Rushing | Monday, October 2, 2023 | 10:02 AM EDT

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.

There’s more at the original.

From what little that has been reported, this seems to have been the result of some personal issue, like the killings Monday morning in Crescentville, rather than the usual shootings by the gang-bangers ‘street groups‘ in the city, and when it gets to the personal, who can really know what happened?

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.

Yup, the personal can move easily into craziness.

Whenever we read about a murder, it’s just natural to want to know why someone was killed, though sometimes the ‘why’ turns out to be an uncomfortable challenge to what we think is right. Perhaps we’ll find out that Mr Kruger’s killing was just about craziness.

Requiescat in pace, Mr Kruger.
__________________________
Updated: 4:38 PM EDT

The Inquirer’s article was significantly updated at 3:03 PM EDT, to include:

Detectives believe his death may have been the result of a domestic dispute or may have been drug-related, according to three law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said police investigators recovered troubling text messages between Kruger and a former partner. Investigators also recovered methamphetamine inside Kruger’s bedroom, the sources said.

Mr Kruger had previously admitted to a methamphetamine addiction, though he wrote as though he had overcome that. Perhaps he relapsed?

Kruger had overcome a number of struggles in his life, including bouts of homelessness and addiction, and had written on social media about a variety of alarming incidents at his home in recent months.

In April, he posted that an ex-partner had broken into his home. “The door was locked, so he had somehow obtained a copy of my keys,” he wrote. He had allowed the man, whom he’d known for years “before his troubles,” to stay at his house briefly after a being released from jail. He said he was able to deescalate the situation and the man eventually left, and he changed his locks. . . . .

He was proudly queer and openly HIV-positive, and used his status to advocate for others living with the virus. He spoke often of the experiences he’d overcome in his life, and how they shaped his identity and work as a writer and activist.

For a period of time, he was homeless and experienced a crystal meth addiction, he wrote, and relied on sex work, his Christian faith, and the kindness of others to survive.

If Ellie Rushing’s updated article is accurate, Mr Kruger’s murder might or might not be a result of the lawlessness which has engulfed the city. If he was back to buying crystal meth, he was associating with, and enabling, the drug dealers which have infested the city. If it was a domestic dispute of some sort, then the city’s lawlessness has little to do with it.