Neighbors Mourns Loss Of Community Activist Shot Dead Inside West Philly Home
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 65-year-old community activist will be laid to rest Monday as her West Philadelphia neighborhood mourns her loss and police search for her killer. Winnie Harris was gunned down in her Powelton home last week -- and those who love her want justice.
"Please someone speak up. Someone out there knows what happened," said State Representative Vanessa Lowery Brown, one of the many neighbors, friends and family who gathered in the 300 block of North Holly Street on Saturday to remember Harris.
Harris was executive director at UC-Green, a nonprofit that plants and tends trees in West Philadelphia. She had formed partnerships and coalitions with neighborhood leaders, making a positive impact on the community.
Her friends at UC called police when she missed a meeting. When officers went to her home they found her unresponsive on the second floor of her home with multiple gunshot wounds. Now there's a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of her killer.
"We are begging people please come out, because this is senseless," Brown said. "If anyone knows any information that could help us please speak up."
A memorial service will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at Christ Community Church.
