Friends of a Philadelphia journalist shot dead by a teen he was reportedly trying to help remembered the victim as “thoughtful” and “sentimental” in online messages.
Josh Kruger, 39, was allegedly shot seven times by Robert Davis, 19, inside his Point Breeze home around 1:30 a.m. Monday, police said.
Kruger left the home in search of help, before collapsing on the street. He was found and rushed to a hospital but could not be saved, authorities said. Davis fled the scene and is considered “armed and dangerous.”
The slain journalist had sent handwritten notes to two of his friends, which had arrived just days before he was killed, the pals said online.
Mark S. King, a fellow journalist, described his friend in a blog post as “thoughtful,” “caring,” and “sentimental.”
In a card he received Tuesday, Kruger congratulated King on his memoir, writing: “While it’s not a car on Bob Barker’s ‘Price is Right,’ a celebrated memoir and being toast of our global village ain’t that bad, either.
“Enjoy it. Hold onto the happiness you’ve cultivated, both as a writer and as a man with a wonderful love story to tell.”
Kruger also thanked King for being a “mentor to me” and for being a “man so many of us needed, whether you realized it or not.”
The card was dated Sept. 7, but was postmarked Sept. 29 — three days before Kruger was killed.
“After my describing Josh as talented and troubled only a moment ago, Josh is not-so-gently asking me to amend that with a few more adjectives, even if they describe qualities he often kept concealed,” King wrote. “Thoughtful. Caring. Sentimental.”
Another friend, Michael Krasulski — who met Kruger in 2014 to do a piece on the former’s church blog — also received a handwritten note from the self-described queer writer, an unexpected surprise as they had not spoken since June.
“Consider my shock when I came home from the College to find a note card in the mail from Josh. It was mailed on September 28th or 29th,” Krasulski, who works at the Community College of Philadelphia, wrote in a touching Facebook post.
Krasulski posted a redacted version of the letter, in which Kruger wrote in part, “…Were incredibly helpful and kind without hesitation. You are a great, and generous, friend. I cherish our friendship.”
“Needless to say, I was deeply touched by the note, and I did not get much done last night as I was an emotional wreck. You never really know what differences you make in the lives of others, and when you do it is often too late,” the department chair wrote in the post.
The Post has reached out to King and Krasulski for comment.
Philadelphia Police said Kruger had been “trying to help” Davis and “they were acquaintances.”
An arrest warrant was issued for Davis, who is wanted for “murder and related offenses.”
