Free-lance Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, journalist Josh Kruger was shot and killed at his home in the city on Monday morning around 1:30 a.m. after mocking those who raised concerns about surging crime.
Kruger was shot seven times, according to ABC News.
The Associated Press reported that Kruger made it out of his home after being shot and was seeking help when he “collapsed in the street.” He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police theorize that either Kruger’s door was unlocked, allowing the shooter to enter, or the shooter knew how to get in.
Kruger had written for the Philadelphia City Paper, the Philadelphia Weekly, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philadelphia Citizen.
The Federalist’s Sean Davis posted to X after Kruger’s death:
Two days after mocking @ScottAdamsSays for predicting a violent crime surge in the U.S., a left-wing Philadelphia journalist was shot and killed. pic.twitter.com/XCWRAHh2rv
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) October 2, 2023
Journalist Andy Ngo noted on X, “Leftist journalist and activist Josh Kruger has been tragically shot dead at his Philadelphia home. Kruger has long downplayed gun violence in his city and publicly chastised others who spoke about it.”
Prior to going into journalism full-time, Kruger worked for the city of Philadelphia, where he ran “social media for the mayor and communications for the Office of Homeless Services from about 2016 to 2021.”
After learning of Kruger’s death, Mayor Jim Kenney (D) released a statement, saying, “Josh cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident both in his public service and his writing. His intelligence, creativity, passion, and wit shone bright in everything that he did — and his light was dimmed much too soon.”
The Philadelphia Office of the Controller identified 330 homicides in the city this year, 294 of which were firearm-related. Another 1,046 people were shot and wounded in the city year-to-date.
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Philadelphia Police Department / BODY CAMS+ /TMXAWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at
