Man killed in Harrisburg this month had survived being shot earlier this year

A man killed this month in a shooting in the 1600 block of Hunter Street had survived being shot in the back earlier this year, according to Harrisburg police.

Michael J. Thornton, 34, died Monday July 20 during a 5:45 p.m. shooting on the block that left rounds littering the street. Police put down more than 20 evidence markers at the scene.

Another man was injured in the incident. Police said the shooting was “contained” to those two people and represented an “isolated incident.”

Police were investigating whether the shooting was related to gang activity or a gang dispute.

One week before the killing, at nearly the exact same time as the homicide, shots were fired on the same block, wounding two other men.

Police are investigating whether that nonfatal shooting July 13 was connected to the killing July 20, but there are no immediate indications, police said.

Thornton did not live on that block of Hunter Street but was known to hang out there. Two nights before he was killed, Thornton recorded a Facebook Live video on the same block in which he appeared to be daring someone to visit the block.

“We chillin',” he said on the video that panned the street. “We out here…A lot of gang members…strapped up (carrying guns)… We all strapped up. We all strapped up out here. You see them. Come play. Come play we got ya.”

Earlier this year, in the early hours of Feb. 12, Thornton showed up at a hospital with a gunshot wound in his back. He refused to say where the shooting happened, declined to assist with the investigation, and eventually recovered from his injuries, said Police Sgt. Kyle Gautsch.

Michael J. Thornton

Michael J. Thornton survived a shooting in February but was killed in July 2020.

After that incident, Thornton again posted comments on Facebook indicating that he had the upper hand and warning someone to “slide through again,” or visit the block again.

Police said they have no evidence that the February shooting was connected to his killing.

Thornton’s sister often urged calm on his posts on Facebook, worried that he was going to get hurt.

She said the family moved from New Jersey to Harrisburg in 1999 when she and her brother were teenagers because the area offered their family a lower cost of living. Thornton attended Central Dauphin High School, and played football for a while, but didn’t graduate. Instead, he earned his General Equivalency Diploma.

Thornton was known as a jokester with a good sense of humor, his sister said. He could be reluctant to trust people and often stayed to himself but also maintained a strong friendship with his best friend Brandon.

She wasn’t sure what her brother had been doing in recent years because he somewhat grew apart from his family members.

“He was a wanna-be bad boy,” she said. “He was hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

Thornton’s father agreed to speak to PennLive but said he didn’t want his name used, because he was concerned about possible retaliation from any gang activity.

His father said Thornton started getting arrested as a teenager, and ended up spending most of the past 15 years behind bars, off-and-on. The prison experience wasn’t good for him, his father said. Instead of turning his life around, he continued running the streets, where his lifestyle conflicted with that of the rest of the family. Because of that, Thornton didn’t get together with his relatives frequently and they weren’t able to keep up with what he was doing.

“He was a troubled soul,” his father said. “He can rest now. He was in and out of jail for so long. It’s a shame. And it’s the same story for many other black men.”

Thornton’s family is now facing steep costs for his funeral services. His sister, and Thornton’s friend Brandon Boyd, both have started online fundraisers to try to help the family cover the unexpected costs.

Thornton leaves behind two sons.

“He loved his family and friends but nothing more than his children,” his friend Boyd wrote on the GoFundMe page. “This was an unexpected tragedy and the family is asking for help.”

Thornton’s death was the city’s 11th homicide so far this year, compared with five at the same date last year. Many cities across the country are seeing an increase in murders this year, according to the New York Times.

READ: Family files $35M suit, claims Harrisburg police took overdosing man to jail, not hospital

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