Man Shot, Killed Eating Thanksgiving Dinner In Norristown: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — An innocent bystander was shot and killed while eating Thanksgiving dinner inside a Norristown home Thursday, and a manhunt is underway for the suspect.

The incident occurred on the 1100 block of Arch Street at around 9:30 p.m. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said it was connected to an argument at a party earlier in the day on Haws Avenue.

Kevon Clarke, 19, of Basin Street in Norristown, fired a shot through a window and into the home, killing 25-year-old Edilberto Miguel Palaez Moctezuma, police said. Palaez Moctezuma had no connection to the earlier incident.

Investigators said they determined that Clarke, his girlfriend, and two others had been asked to leave the party on Haws Avenue earlier in the day.

When the four left, they stole some alcohol, and Clarke's girlfriend's cousin texted them to ask for it back, police said.

Clarke then arranged to meet the cousin to return the alcohol at Clarke's home on Basin Street, according to authorities. When the cousin arrived, Clarke came out brandishing a gun, and fired several shots at her car as she sped away, police said.

One of those shots went in to the home where Palaez Moctezuma was eating dinner.

At least two other men were spotted in surveillance footage fleeing the scene after Clarke fired the shots, police said.

Clarke has been charged with first degree murder, but the investigation remains active.

“This is the second innocent bystander killed this year by a senseless dispute that turned to gun violence by someone who is not even legally able to own a gun," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement. "We hold the people involved in this kind of violence accountable here in Montgomery County. We will find this shooter and the others involved in this killing and seek justice for the murder of an innocent man, who wasn’t safe even in the confines of his own home.”

Clarke is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighs about 150 pounds. Police said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

If you have any information on Clarke's whereabouts, call the Norristown Police Department at 610-270-0977 or the Montgomery County Detectives’ Tip Line at 610-278-DOIT (3638).