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  • Dear Abby | Relatives take sides as accusations and denials pile up

    DEAR ABBY: I’m a 51-year-old mother and grandmother whose kids don’t talk to me. The reason: My son, “Aaron,” was sexually assaulted by his friend, “Eli,” and I told him his friend was no longer allowed to come over. I spoke to Eli’s mother. She told me she’d take care of it and agreed the two shouldn’t hang out. They were both underage at the time. (Aaron was 10, and Eli was 13.)

    A few months later, Aaron told me that it wasn’t Eli but his own uncle “Joe” who sexually assaulted him. I knew better. I talked to Joe and, of course, he knew nothing. I told Aaron to stop lying about his uncle and that Eli still couldn’t come over.

    Aaron is an adult now, and he’s got his siblings believing him about his uncle, and he’s still friends with Eli. My husband and I moved next door to Joe, and now all the kids have blocked me from their and their kids’ lives. When I tried to talk to Aaron about the situation, he blocked me completely. Joe knows nothing about what’s going on. How do I get back into my children’s and grandkids’ lives?

    — TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

    DEAR TURNED: Could the boys have been experimenting with getting familiar with their bodies when all this occurred? Did you see something and confront your son and he admitted it? Aaron may have blamed Uncle Joe because he wanted to continue seeing Eli. Or … was his accusation TRUE? You will not be able to heal the schism in your family until everyone is in agreement about what really happened when Aaron was 10.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: My older brother, age 70, is making his estate plans with his partner. We have no other siblings or children. I told him I’m financially secure and don’t need him to leave me anything, but he insisted on having my Social Security number, saying it’s needed for beneficiary bequests. I called him back before disclosing the information, because I wanted to make sure it was really him.

    He later called me and asked for my passport number because his partner has assets in China, and the paperwork required more information. That was too much information for me, and I asked him to take me out of his bequests entirely. He fussed about having to contact the lawyer and change the trust information but said he would take care of it. Now, he’s no longer speaking to me.

    Abby, my brother never disclosed that he would need anything beyond a Social Security number. Should I feel guilty about the added expense of editing his trust?

    — TROUBLEMAKER SIS IN TEXAS

    DEAR SIS: You should absolutely NOT feel guilty for refusing to reveal the information your brother was requesting! Are you SURE it was your brother calling and asking for this highly personal information and not a scammer? I ask because a beneficiary’s Social Security number and/or passport number is NOT REQUIRED when someone is being mentioned in a will, and I think you may have dodged a bullet.

  • Devin Askew’s bench scoring powers Villanova to an 88-82 win over Providence

    Devin Askew’s bench scoring powers Villanova to an 88-82 win over Providence

    Villanova picked up its fourth consecutive Big East road win Tuesday with an 88-82 victory at Providence.

    Villanova (14-3, 5-1 Big East) was able to outscore Providence (8-9, 1-5), which entered the game averaging 89.1 points. Devin Askew led the Wildcats with 20 points and seven assists off the bench.

    “I thought we did a good job in the first half of slowing them down,” coach Kevin Willard said. “We gave up a lot of twos, but once a game gets up and down, sometimes you’ve got to find ways to score. And I think against them, you’ve got to get up and down a little bit.”

    With Villanova knocking on the top 25 door, is it NCAA Tournament or bust in Year 1 of the Kevin Willard era?

    The Friars were the highest-ranked KenPom offense (36th) Villanova has faced since its 89-61 loss to Michigan on Dec. 9. Providence’s leading scorer Jason Edwards, who is scoring 17.2 points per game, missed Tuesday’s matchup because of a foot injury.

    Three Friars — Jaylin Sellers (24), Jamier Jones (23), and Stefan Vaaks (21 points) — combined for 68 of their 82 points.

    “You’ve got to match [Providence’s] pace,” Willard said. “[Even] on the road, where I don’t like to do that. They just get out and go so well. And they have so many guys that can hurt you that you’ve got to take advantage and go right back down.”

    The Wildcats collected 14 offensive rebounds, with Duke Brennan being responsible for five of them. Brennan totaled 14 points and eight rebounds.

    Villanova shot 32-for-64 from the field, 10-for-28 beyond the arc.

    Villanova guard Tyler Perkins, shown on Nov. 15, scored 15 points on Tuesday night.

    Perkins is rejuvenated

    Tyler Perkins scored 15 points for the Wildcats, shooting 6-for-12 from the field, along with eight rebounds.

    He came up big in key moments, especially in the second half. Perkins scored on a post-up in the paint while Providence was trying to cut into Villanova’s double-digit lead.

    “That was huge because that kind of got us back up [by eight points],” Willard said when asked about Perkins. “I thought [that] was huge at that point.”

    Perkins is averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds on 48% shooting over the last five conference games.

    Villanova’s bench helps drive offense

    Outside of Askew, Villanova’s bench has been quiet offensively since conference play began. Askew scored eight points during a 10-0 scoring run early in the first half.

    He has come off the bench in all of Villanova’s games this season besides the season opener against Brigham Young.

    Tyler Perkins embraces his many roles at Villanova. This year, it’s about being a leader.

    During conference play, Askew has developed into a veteran Willard can lean on in difficult moments. Askew is averaging 10.8 points over his last five games.

    Malachi Palmer collected 10 points in the first half to tie his career high, which he set at Maryland last year.

    “My mindset is just come in and play as hard as possible and whatever happens, happens,” Palmer said.

    Being unselfish

    Willard has consistently talked about the unselfishness of his team this season. Acaden Lewis has been the prime example of what Willard has harped on.

    The four-time Big East Freshman of the Week dished out a team-high eight assists while scoring only seven points, marking his fourth consecutive and ninth overall game with six or more assists.

    Villanova guard Acaden Lewis, shown last week against Creighton, had a team-high eight assists on Tuesday night.

    As a whole, Villanova had 21 assists, its second-best total this season. The Wildcats had 28 against Sacred Heart on Nov. 11.

    Six of eight Villanova players who played collected at least one assist.

    Up next

    Villanova will host St. John’s (12-5, 5-1) in its first game at the Xfinity Mobile Arena this season on Saturday (8 p.m., Peacock). St. John’s entered the season ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, but has since dropped out.

    Villanova split the regular-season series with St. John’s last year.

  • Lawsuit alleges misconduct by state troopers investigating death of Delco girl murdered in 1975

    Lawsuit alleges misconduct by state troopers investigating death of Delco girl murdered in 1975

    David Zandstra, the former Marple Township pastor acquitted last year in the 1975 murder of an 8-year-old girl in Delaware County, has died, and a federal lawsuit has been filed alleging misconduct by two Pennsylvania State Police investigators in the case.

    The lawsuit said the 85-year-old Zandstra, who lived in Georgia, “has passed and his family seek redress for this extreme and immoral prosecution.”

    No further information about his death was included in the complaint. The Delaware County Daily Times, citing his death certificate, reported that Zandstra died Dec. 15 at a hospice, and the cause of death was skin cancer.

    Mark Much, one of Zandstra’s lawyers during the trial but who is not an attorney on the lawsuit, said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday night that “Zandstra passed away last month, peacefully, and surrounded by his loving family.”

    Much said that Zandstra “was a God-fearing man, unsuspecting and trustful of law enforcement, naive of their unscrupulous interrogation tactics, all in the name of ‘solving’ a cold case.”

    The defendants in the lawsuit, filed Jan. 10 in Philadelphia, are Andrew Martin and Eugene Tray, who were the most recent state police investigators for Gretchen Harrington’s murder.

    Gretchen Harrington, 8, was found dead in 1975.

    Tray declined to comment on the lawsuit. Martin could not be reached for comment.

    The plaintiff is Margaret Zandstra, the administrator of the estate of David Zandstra, who allegedly had his civil rights violated by the defendants, the lawsuit states.

    Zandstra, who was held in custody for 18 months, was found not guilty in January 2025 by a Delaware County jury of murder and kidnapping in the killing of Gretchen Harrington. The jury took about an hour to deliberate after a four-day trial.

    In 2023, Zandstra was charged after he confessed to driving Gretchen to a secluded section of Ridley Creek State Park and beating her to death. The lawsuit says the investigators “illegally coerced an admission of guilt from Mr. Zandstra, a then-83-year-old stroke and cancer survivor.”

    Mark Much argued during the trial that state police investigators had coerced and manipulated Zandstra into confessing to a crime he did not commit. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and DNA found on Gretchen’s clothing belonged to two unidentified men and one unidentified woman.

    Testimony during the trial revealed that before Zandstra’s confession, the state police had developed several other suspects in the decades since Gretchen’s body was found.

    The lawsuit provides alleged details about what the investigators did before finally going after Zandstra.

    “These Defendants caused evidence of the alternative suspects and Mr. Zandstra’s exclusion as a contributor of DNA to be withheld until the eve of trial, after Mr. Zandstra had been incarcerated and his cancer had returned and gone untreated,” according to the complaint.

    Zandstra was the pastor at Trinity Chapel in Marple Township, a Christian reform church near the Harrington family home. On Aug. 15, 1975, Gretchen was last seen walking to the church for the final session of vacation Bible school before disappearing.

    Her unclothed body was found two months later near a walking trail in Ridley Creek State Park. An autopsy revealed she died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

    Deputy District Attorney Geoff Paine said during the trial that two state police investigators interviewed Zandstra after a woman who was a lifelong friend of Zandstra’s daughter told police in 2022 that he had groped her at a sleepover at his home in 1975, days before Gretchen’s disappearance. At the time, Paine said, the woman was the same age as Gretchen and looked like Gretchen.

    Much told the jury that another suspect who was investigated was Gretchen’s sister, Zoe Harrington, who in 2021 claimed to have killed her sister with a rock during an incident involving her father, who was also a pastor, and members of the congregation he led.

    Much said the state police at one point considered Harold Harrington, Gretchen’s father, a potential suspect. Harold Harrington died in 2021.

    The prosecutor told the jury that Zoe Harrington’s confession wasn’t credible because she had a history of mental-health illness.

    According to the lawsuit, Andrew Martin, one of the defendants, went to the first assistant district attorney in Montgomery County to seek a court order to allow a secretly recorded conversation between Zoe Harrington and her father, who was in poor health at the time.

    After several interviews with Zoe Harrington — including with another state trooper who is not named as a defendant — Martin signed an application to the court for a wiretap authorization on Aug. 9, 2021, according to the lawsuit. The next day, however, Zoe Harrington allegedly backed out because she said she was too afraid.

    The lawsuit states that when Martin and Tray provided their sworn affidavit supporting the arrest of Zandstra, they summarized their August 2021 activity in the investigation as: “On Aug. 9, 2021, investigators conducted an interview of Zoey HARRINGTON (sister of Gretchen HARRINGTON) relative to this investigation. Zoe HARRINGTON related that ZANDSTRA was the minister at the time, and his daughter was Gretchen’s best friend.”

    The lawsuit also says the state police had another suspect, Richard Bailey, who was investigated in 2017. Bailey was a convicted child rapist and kidnapper, who was seen a mile from where Gretchen disappeared on the day she was abducted. Bailey died in state prison in the 1990s.

    The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and costs.

  • Viral 11-year-old Eagles fan Sam Salvo wanted Kevin Patullo flipping burgers. Now he says ‘it worked.’

    Viral 11-year-old Eagles fan Sam Salvo wanted Kevin Patullo flipping burgers. Now he says ‘it worked.’

    When 11-year-old Sam Salvo woke up on Christmas morning, he was surprised with tickets to the Eagles’ wild-card game. When he woke up on Monday morning, after the Eagles’ loss, he was all over the internet, thanks to his viral postgame rant.

    “[When I got the tickets], I didn’t know who they were playing, but I was already excited,” Salvo said. “I thought they were going to win. I was like ready to do a backflip. I was so excited.”

    Salvo remembers the excitement leading up to kickoff. Lincoln Financial Field, covered in Eagles green as fans piled in to watch the Birds take on the San Francisco 49ers, was ready to erupt. The Eagles took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter, but their Super Bowl defense ended early with a 23-19 defeat.

    “It went from everyone being excited to be there, everyone getting ready for a dub,” Salvo said. “Then everyone got pretty sad really quickly. Everyone around me was sad.”

    However, one fan in the crowd said something that resonated with Salvo: Win or lose, we’re the [expletive] Birds.

    Fans, former Eagles react to Kevin Patullo’s ouster with cheers, jokes, and visions of Big Dom calling plays

    So Salvo left the stadium with his head held high, despite the crushing loss, and that’s when an opportunity presented itself. As he and his father walked toward the parking lot, they noticed 6abc reporter Briana Smith conducting interviews.

    “When we were walking past the broadcaster, my dad was like, ‘No, I’m not trying to waste any time here,’” Salvo said. “And then I said, ‘I want to do it.’ So, I did it.”

    The Blue Bell native stepped up to the microphone and let out what has become one of the most viral lines to come out of the Eagles’ playoff loss: I also want Kevin Patullo flipping burgers at the local McDonald’s.

    “Whenever he’s an offensive coordinator,” Salvo told the camera, “it’s like he’s flipping burgers. … One half he’s cooking, and the other half is completely raw.”

    The original post has more than a million likes. For Salvo, the attention was unexpected.

    “Absolutely not [was I expecting it to go viral]. I had no idea,” the sixth grader said. “I was just hyped that I was on the news. Small win. But I never thought that I would expand this far.”

    The video has gained more than 20 million views on Instagram alone — in fact, that’s just the original post, and does not count the tens of millions of views its received on other platforms and in other posts. Naturally, Salvo has become quite the popular kid.

    Who will be the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator? Start with these eight names.

    But the thing Salvo is most excited about is that Patullo has now been removed as the Eagles offensive coordinator.

    “[After the game] I was thinking about how much the offense changed when Kevin Patullo came in,” Salvo said shortly after the news broke Tuesday. “So I just wanted to say anything about him that could get him fired. And it worked.

    “I’m feeling good about it. Now we can hire a new offensive coordinator. If we could get Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator, I think that would be great.”

    Kevin Patullo lasted just one season as the Eagles offensive coordinator.

    Salvo says he’s been bleeding green ever since his uncle gave him his first jersey … when he was born. Now, he also enjoys watching and analyzing games, listening to New Heights with Travis and Jason Kelce, and tuning into The Pat McAfee Show.

    “He’s always been around grown-ups,” said his mother Zuzana. “So football Sundays have always been a huge thing. The talk and all that stuff has always been a big part of his life. You cannot stop that fire.”

    Salvo’s passion for football is something he hopes to turn into a career down the line, if he doesn’t become a pro tennis player.

    “I will absolutely try and be a football announcer,” Salvo said. “I don’t care if it’s college football, just any football.”

    Jason Kelce defends Kevin Patullo but blasts ‘mediocre’ Eagles; Donovan McNabb points finger at A.J. Brown

    And as far as next steps for the Eagles this offseason, Salvo has a few more opinions on Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, whom he also said also needs to go during his viral interview.

    “I’m not going to be mad if he stays, but I need him to show a little bit more effort,” Salvo said. “Because it’s been kind of annoying when we’ve been throwing him deep balls and he’s been showing no effort to even try and catch it.”

    Brown, who had a heated exchange with Nick Sirianni during Sunday’s loss, has dodged the media twice since the end of the season.

    But if anyone can get a reaction, it’s Salvo.

  • Jesús Luzardo ‘really interested’ in a contract extension with the Phillies

    Jesús Luzardo ‘really interested’ in a contract extension with the Phillies

    Jesús Luzardo hasn’t spoken with the Phillies yet about a contract extension.

    But it’s a conversation he would like to have.

    “It’s not something that I’m closed off to,” said Luzardo, appearing as a guest this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “I just got married and hopefully eventually have a family, and just being stable in a certain place, knowing that you’re comfortable within an organization … it’s something I would be really interested in.”

    Alex Bregman is off the market. What does that mean for the Phillies’ pursuit of Bo Bichette?

    Stability has eluded Luzardo since he got drafted in 2016. The 28-year-old lefty has been traded three times — from the Nationals to the Athletics in 2017, the Athletics to the Marlins in 2021, and the Marlins to the Phillies before last season.

    But Luzardo’s first year with the Phillies was the best of his career. He made 32 starts and worked 183⅔ innings, both career highs. He posted a 3.92 ERA that was inflated by nearly one run by back-to-back starts in which he believed he was tipping pitches. And he incorporated a sweeping slider that became his go-to breaking pitch.

    “It’s an organization that I had a really good time in,” Luzardo said. “I love the city, I loved where I lived, and the organization as a whole, how they treat us as players, how they treated my family. But at the end of the day, it’s not entirely up to me or in my hands.

    Jesús Luzardo, who pitched for Venezuela in 2023, said he’s skipping this year’s World Baseball Classic.

    “I’m a firm believer that what is supposed to happen will happen. I haven’t had any of those conversations yet. If they were to come, I would be open to hearing them.”

    Regardless, Luzardo said he won’t be in the World Baseball Classic despite receiving calls from Team USA and Venezuela. He pitched for Venezuela in 2023.

    “Going into a free-agency year, I made the decision that, unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to pitch in the Classic,” Luzardo said. “I want to take my time, take a slow spring training, fully get ready with the team, make sure my body bounced back after a career high in innings.”

    ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Adam Lind on working with Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller, Gabriel Rincones, Jr., and more

    Meanwhile, lefty Cristopher Sánchez is interested in representing the Dominican Republic in the WBC, a major league source said this week. Sánchez was the Cy Young runner-up in the National League last year. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper committed to playing for Team USA in the tournament, which runs from March 5-17; catcher Garrett Stubbs intends to play for Israel.

    Luzardo will make $11 million this year and could be in line to at least double that salary with another good season. Two potential barometers: Framber Valdez and former Phillies teammate Ranger Suárez, free-agent lefties who could sign nine-figure contracts before spring training.

    The Phillies will have $38 million rolling off the books after this season when Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker’s contracts expire. But they have $165.9 million committed to seven players for 2027: Zack Wheeler, Schwarber, Trea Turner, Harper, Aaron Nola, Brad Keller, and Sánchez. And they had a Zoom call Monday with free-agent infielder Bo Bichette about a long-term contract that would add another big salary.

    Extra bases

    The Phillies acquired righty reliever Chase Shugart from the Pirates for minor-league infielder Francisco Loreto. Shugart, 29, got designated for assignment after posting a 3.40 ERA in 35 appearances last season for Pittsburgh. He has minor-league options and figures to provide more depth to the bullpen.

  • Penn State names St. Joe’s Hannah Prince head field hockey coach

    Penn State names St. Joe’s Hannah Prince head field hockey coach

    STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — After amassing a 64-14 record across four seasons at St. Joseph’s, Hannah Prince on Tuesday was named the head field hockey coach at Penn State.

    Prince, 33, had served as the Hawks’ head coach since 2022. St. Joe’s made the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons — success that included two Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and four A-10 tournament titles. In 2024, the Hawks won a program-record 20 games and reached the NCAA championship game, a first in any team sport in school history.

    “I am deeply grateful to Saint Joseph’s University and to Vice President and Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner for trusting me with the opportunity to lead the field hockey program on Hawk Hill over the past four seasons,” Prince said Tuesday in a statement. “The student-athletes are truly the heart of this program. This team means more to me than I can put into words, and it has been an honor to coach such a resilient, kind, and committed group. I will miss them tremendously and will always be proud to be a Hawk. I wish the program nothing but continued success in its next chapter.”

    Following the historic 2024 campaign, Prince and her staff were named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year. She then led the team to its fifth straight A-10 tournament title and another NCAA Tournament, where St. Joe’s beat Drexel before falling to North Carolina.

    “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead the Penn State field hockey program,” Prince said. “ … I am honored to join an athletic department with such a strong tradition of success and pride. I am excited to work with our field hockey student-athletes, bringing my passion for the game every day as we uphold the values of Penn State.”

    Penn State’s Kerry and Riley O’Donnell dedicate season to late field hockey advocate Gretta Ehret

    Prince’s coaching career, which began at New Hampshire in 2015, includes stops as an assistant at St. Joe’s and Princeton and later as an associate head coach at Louisville.

    Before coaching, Prince was a four-year starter at Massachusetts, where she won three A-10 titles. She was named NFHCA first-team all-region and first-team all-conference and also has represented the United States in international competition, winning a gold medal at the 2017 Pan American Cup.

    Prince’s Hawks teams were mainstays in the NCAA Tournament and in the NFHCA rankings. Now, she’ll look to bring the Nittany Lions back to contention. They last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and finished with a 7-10 record in 2025.

    “Nittany Lion Field Hockey has a proud and storied tradition, and I am ready to pour my passion and energy into building a program that competes for championships,” Prince said.

  • Flyers prospect Carter Amico leaves Boston University, will play in the USHL

    Flyers prospect Carter Amico leaves Boston University, will play in the USHL

    It’s been a frustrating year-plus for Carter Amico.

    In November 2024, the Flyers prospect suffered a broken kneecap while playing for the United States national team development program. The injury, subsequent surgery, and recovery cost him all but 17 games in his draft year, and contributed to him slipping out of the first round in June’s draft.

    The Flyers ultimately selected the towering 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenseman with the 38th pick and hoped to watch him develop under the tutelage of coach Jay Pandolfo at Boston University. That was not to be, as Amico has left the program halfway through his freshman year to join the Muskegon of the United States Hockey League for the remainder of the season.

    The Maine native had played in 18 of the Terriers’ 21 games this season but was not getting big minutes and did not register a point. Amico was a minus-seven on the season and did not play in any of BU’s three games last weekend.

    Flyers top 20 prospects: Porter Martone is No. 1, but where do Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko rank?

    He will join the reigning USHL champion Lumberjacks, who are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Last week, Muskegon’s best player and projected top-5 2026 NHL draft pick, Tynan Lawrence, left the Lumberjacks to enroll early at Boston University. In essence, this became a one-for-one swap.

    A source told The Inquirer that the move will allow Amico an opportunity to play more minutes as he continues to work back from his injury and added that the defenseman could enroll at another NCAA school next season.

    The Flyers remain high on Amico, who is an agile skater for someone his size, brings physicality, and has shutdown potential. The 18-year-old, who missed the team’s offseason on-ice sessions while rehabbing his knee, will hope a fresh start in the USHL will get him back on track.

    “He was high on our list,” amateur scout Shane Fukushima said at the draft last year. “He’s a massive body that missed the majority of the year; I think if that had not happened, he would have been selected higher in the draft. We feel that the upside is high and he’s just scratching the surface.”

  • The fatal shooting of a 16-year-old inside Chipotle bathroom may have been unintentional, sources say

    The fatal shooting of a 16-year-old inside Chipotle bathroom may have been unintentional, sources say

    A 16-year-old was found shot to death inside the bathroom of a Chipotle near Temple University’s campus Monday night in what investigators believe may have been an unintentional shooting, according to police and a law enforcement source.

    Khyon Smith-Tate and three of his friends were inside the Chipotle on the ground floor of The View at Montgomery apartments at 12th Street and Montgomery Avenue around 5 p.m. Monday, police said. Smith-Tate and one friend went into one bathroom, while the two other teens went into the second bathroom, said Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.

    According to surveillance video, the teen with Smith-Tate left the restroom alone a short time later, and then walked out of the restaurant with the other teens, Vanore said.

    About 15 minutes later, a restaurant employee found Smith-Tate suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, he said. Police and medics responded, and pronounced him dead at the scene, officials said.

    No gun was recovered, though officers found one spent shell casing from a 9mm handgun in the trash can, Vanore said.

    Smith-Tate was a student at Imhotep Institute Charter High School. His mother, overwhelmed with grief, declined to speak Monday at her North Philadelphia home.

    In a written statement, school officials described Smith-Tate as “caring, energetic, filled with school pride and comical.”

    “He was filled with light and love,” the statement, signed by Imhotep Chief Executive Officer Andre Noble and Principal Jury Segers, said. “We will always remember his smile.”

    Police have identified the three teens involved, Vanore said, and are poring over cell phone data and interviewing witnesses to try to learn what happened inside the bathroom.

    A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said detectives are looking into whether the teens may have been filming a social media video or playing with a gun when it fired and unintentionally struck Smith-Tate.

    The source, who asked not to be identified to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the teens are all close friends. Still, they did not call for help, the source said, and left him to die on the bathroom floor.

    “As one can imagine, we are struggling today,” Noble and Segers said. Our collective hearts are hurting. But this community is resilient.”

    District Attorney Larry Krasner said that trauma-care professionals and victim advocates from his office visited the school on Tuesday to lead “multiple grief trauma healing circles” for students and staff.

    “The trauma and grief our young people experience as a result of shootings is unacceptable,” he said. “We will not accept this as normal for our kids and babies.”

    Smith-Tate is the first child under 18 to be shot and killed in Philadelphia this year, and his death comes after homicides in the city reached near-historic lows last year.

    If it is confirmed that the shooting was unintentional, Smith-Tate would be the latest in a growing list of children shot by a mishandled gun in Philadelphia.

    A shattered family, a traumatic past: Judge sentences grandmother in accidental shooting of 2-year-old girl

    Dozens of kids have been wounded in accidental shootings in recent years, often the result of other children finding unsecured guns in their homes. Just last month, a 14-year-old was seriously wounded when another teen playing with a gun shot him in the stomach, police said.

    Last year, 12-year-old Ethan Parker was shot and killed after police said his 17-year-old neighbor was playing with a gun while recording a song and accidentally fired it. Other victims have been even younger: like 3-year-old Kayden Barnes, who police said shot herself with her father’s gun in 2024, and 2-year-old Diora Porter-Brown, who was fatally shot by a cousin with an intellectual disability who found his grandmother’s firearm in 2023.

  • Fans, former Eagles react to Kevin Patullo news with cheers, jokes, and visions of Big Dom calling plays

    Fans, former Eagles react to Kevin Patullo news with cheers, jokes, and visions of Big Dom calling plays

    After one season as Eagles offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo’s play-calling career is officially over in Philadelphia.

    Patullo was the favored target for disgruntled Eagles fans throughout the season, but especially after the team’s wild-card round loss to San Francisco. His home was vandalized in November, a local golf simulator facility let fans hit golf balls at a photo of his face, and of course, he’s been getting flack from fans on social media all season long.

    So it was no surprise that the announcement that the Eagles would find a new offensive coordinator for next season was met with cheers from most of the fans.

    Who will be the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator? Start with these eight names.

    While most fans are celebrating the decision, it appears that Patullo might not be gone entirely.

    Either way, fans didn’t let their celebratory mood stop them from getting a joke off at Patullo’s expense.

    As far as former players, Ike Reese said on 94 WIP that he thought Patullo was being made a scapegoat for the team’s failures this season.

    “Let’s be honest — Kevin Patullo is a first-year offensive coordinator,” Reese said. “He was supposed to take the 29th-ranked passing offense and turn it into what, exactly?”

    The Jalen Hurts roller coaster is about to lose Kevin Patullo. How will the next rider fare?

    Emmanuel Acho, on the other hand, praised the move, and said Patullo’s failure should be the end of coach Nick Sirianni’s attempts to hire from within.

    Some fans agree.

    Even LeSean McCoy, who said earlier this week that he believed some of the problems on offense were due to Jalen Hurts, was thankful to see the team move on.

    Free-agent moves? Stars moving on? Answering all of the Eagles’ biggest offseason questions

    So, who’s next for the Eagles?

    Whoever it is — even if it’s a former coach of a division rival — Philly fans are looking forward to moving on from Patullo.

    Jason Kelce defends Kevin Patullo but blasts ‘mediocre’ Eagles; Donovan McNabb points finger at A.J. Brown
  • Who will be the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator? Start with these eight names.

    Who will be the Eagles’ next offensive coordinator? Start with these eight names.

    Jalen Hurts will begin his sixth season as the Eagles’ starting quarterback in September. He is about to have his seventh play-caller. Kevin Patullo, the 44-year-old, first-time offensive coordinator, was removed from his position on Tuesday in the aftermath of the Eagles’ wild-card exit. Now, Nick Sirianni and the Eagles will be tasked with hiring the team’s next offensive play-caller. The team’s last two internal promotions — Patullo and Brian Johnson — were finished after one season. If the team decides to fill the vacancy with an outside voice, here are eight candidates they could consider:

    Brian Daboll is out of work after a mostly bad tenure with the Giants but is respected in league circles for his offensive mind.

    Brian Daboll

    Could the Eagles tap a division rival’s former head coach as their next offensive coordinator? Daboll, 50, was fired in November in the middle of his fourth season with the New York Giants. He has a history with Hurts, serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator when Hurts was there in 2017, which culminated in a national championship.

    Daboll has extensive experience as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level, serving in that role with the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011), Kansas City Chiefs (2012), and Buffalo Bills (2018-21). With the Bills, he helped develop a young Josh Allen. But could he be bound for another head coaching gig? He is reportedly interviewing with the Tennessee Titans.

    Kliff Kingsbury received high marks for his work with Jayden Daniels in 2024.

    Kliff Kingsbury

    How about another division rival’s former offensive coordinator? The Washington Commanders fired Kingsbury, 46, following their 5-12 season after two seasons in that role. He has worked with various notable quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, Kyler Murray with the Arizona Cardinals, and Jayden Daniels with the Commanders.

    At the NFL level, Kingsbury called plays as the Cardinals head coach from 2019-22 and with the Commanders. While he came up in the “Air Raid” scheme, his offense in Washington attempted to strike a balance between the run and pass. He is drawing head coaching interest, though, as he interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday.

    Nate Scheelhaase

    Scheelhaase, 35, is currently serving as the Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator. It’s just his second season coaching in the NFL, including his 2024 stint as a Rams offensive assistant and passing game specialist, but he has made a quick impact. Scheelhaase has helped coach Sean McVay orchestrate a passing game that led the league in yards in 2025 and ranked 10th in 2024 with Matthew Stafford as its quarterback.

    He doesn’t have NFL play-calling experience. However, he called plays at Iowa State in 2023 as offensive coordinator under new Penn State coach Matt Campbell (Sirianni’s roommate at Mount Union). The Eagles might have to get in line — according to multiple reports, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cleveland Browns have requested interviews with Scheelhaase regarding their head coaching vacancies.

    Klay Kubiak

    Could the Eagles tap the offensive coordinator for the team that knocked them out of the playoffs this year? Kubiak, 37, doesn’t call plays under San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, so the Eagles could attempt to interview him. Is he ready for that responsibility? Kubiak, the middle son of former Houston Texans and Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, has spent all five seasons of his NFL coaching career with the 49ers. Among his previous titles were offensive passing game specialist (2024) and assistant quarterbacks coach (2022-23).

    Todd Monken had some success with Lamar Jackson before John Harbaugh’s staff was fired earlier this month.

    Todd Monken

    The 59-year-old Monken is the most experienced candidate on this list, as he concluded his 37th season coaching (11 at the pro level) this year. He spent the last three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator under former coach John Harbaugh, working with dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson, who won his second NFL MVP award under Monken in 2023, and All-Pro running back Derrick Henry. Monken served in the same role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-18) and the Cleveland Browns (2019).

    But would Monken be willing to part ways with Harbaugh, who is bound to get hired to another head coaching gig this offseason? According to The Athletic, one of the issues that led to Harbaugh’s firing in Baltimore was his unwillingness to oust Monken. Monken has interviewed with the Browns regarding their head coaching gig, too.

    Mike McDaniel was Vic Fangio’s boss in Miami and would be his peer in Philadelphia, under this scenario.

    Mike McDaniel

    Could Vic Fangio reunite with his former head coach? McDaniel, 42, was fired by the Dolphins last week after four seasons as their head coach and offensive play-caller. He is part of the Shanahan coaching tree, having worked with both Mike in Denver and Washington and Kyle in Atlanta and San Francisco, including a stint as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2021. Like Shanahan’s offense, McDaniel’s scheme is known for its emphasis on speed and misdirection. He has expertise in the running game, having spent four seasons as the 49ers’ running game coordinator (2017-20). McDaniel reportedly will interview for head coaching jobs (Browns, Falcons, Titans, and Ravens) and an offensive coordinator position (Detroit Lions), so he is in high demand.

    Doug Nussmeier has experience with the Eagles, but the current Saints offensive coordinator would have to come to Philadelphia in a lateral move.

    Doug Nussmeier

    Could the Eagles turn to a familiar face to fill the vacancy? Nussmeier spent the 2024 Super Bowl-winning season as the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach under Kellen Moore. While the running game was the focal point of the offense, Hurts was efficient as a passer that year, completing a career-best 68.7% of his passes and throwing just five interceptions, his lowest total as the starter.

    When Moore departed for the New Orleans Saints’ head coaching job, he took Nussmeier with him and made him offensive coordinator (with Moore as the play-caller). The 2025 season was Nussmeier’s first with that title in the NFL, but he’s been an offensive coordinator at various college programs, including Fresno State, Washington, Alabama, Michigan, and Florida.

    Frank Reich was a head coach in Indianapolis and Carolina, and also has a winning past in Philly.

    Frank Reich

    The familiar faces don’t end with Nussmeier. Reich, the former Eagles offensive coordinator (2016-17) under Doug Pederson, could be available after spending the 2025 season as Stanford’s interim head coach. With the hiring of new coach Tavita Pritchard, Stanford announced that Reich would stay on as a senior adviser. But could he be lured back to the NFL? He brings six years of NFL head coaching experience with Sirianni and the Indianapolis Colts (2018-22) and the Carolina Panthers (2023). Reich also worked with Sirianni while he was the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers (2014-15) and Sirianni served as quarterbacks coach.