Suspect arrested in murder of Imani Ringgold in West Philadelphia; 2 others at large, police say
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of 20-year-old Imani Ringgold, who was shot and killed in West Philadelphia in April, police said Thursday.
Philadelphia Police Department Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore posted on social media that 24-year-old Hamza Ruley has been arrested in Ringgold's murder. Two other fugitives are at large, Vanore said.
Ringgold was fatally shot on April 7 at 60th and Market streets in West Philly after picking up food. Two other people were wounded in the shooting, where investigators found 27 spent shell casings at the scene. Ringgold was pronounced dead about 20 minutes after the shooting happened at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Initially, police said the shooting was targeted, but then said one week later that Ringgold wasn't the intended target.
Police said a Mazda pulled up to the corner in the area of 60th and Market streets and began firing shots, fatally striking Ringgold and wounding a woman and a man.
Last month, police released mugshots of two suspects wanted in connection with Ringgold's murder.
Mustafa King, 26, and 21-year-old Zaire Manning are both wanted by police in the fatal shooting of Ringgold.
Ringgold's grandmother, Diedra Bynum, said the two were on the phone when the shooting happened.
"She walked out the pizza store, and that's when I just heard the gunshots, and she didn't even get the chance to scream," Bynum told CBS News Philadelphia. "Then I heard someone say, 'Oh, [expletive] it's a girl.' And they must have just ran off. I don't know."
Ringgold's family said she had just recently been accepted to community college and planed to pursue something in HVAC.
"She was just an innocent bystander," Bynum told CBS News Philadelphia. "I got to the hospital and they said she was shot 18 times. She didn't even have a chance."
Anyone with information about Ringgold's murder is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Department.
