Exzavius D. Whitaker moved to the Harrisburg area more than a year ago from Texas to pursue training as a barber.
On Saturday night, Whitaker, 25, was shot to death near Fifth and Woodbine streets, family members confirmed.
Police released no information about the shooting beyond the fact that one occurred. Investigators said it was too soon to release any information about possible motive or suspects.
Neighbors told PennLive they heard six or seven gunshots about 8:45 p.m. Saturday, then someone reacting in pain, saying “Ow.”
Lynee Brown went outside and saw that officers had arrived.
“One officer, you could see it on his face, he had a look of compassion,” Brown said. “He had tears in his eyes.”
That officer performed CPR on Whitaker until emergency medical personnel got to the scene and took over. But Whitaker was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Whitaker, who went by the nicknames Zae or Binky, leaves behind three children. He worked in the area as a barber, just like his father who owns a barber shop in Texas.
“My big brother was the coolest person anyone has ever met,” his sister Cocoa Johnson said. “I love him to pieces and I will miss him forever, I’ll miss all our conversations, jokes, talks and laughs. This is the toughest loss I’ve ever dealt with but now he can fly high with our grandmother.”
Johnson said relatives would provide more information about Whitaker later as they were still adjusting to the shocking news of his death. She said relatives were gathering to support each other. Most of Whitaker’s family lives in Texas, she said.
Whitaker’s killing is the tenth homicide in the city this year and the second homicide in uptown this year. The other eight homicides occurred within a fraction of a square mile in Allison Hill.
Earlier this month, police logged two non-fatal shootings near the homicide scene that injured three men. Police said two men shot each other in front of the Camp Curtin YMCA on Sept. 3. Another man was shot in the leg Sept. 5 behind his home in a different incident. That man did not want to cooperate with investigators, police said.
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