Court filings unsealed this month lay out how an Instagram group-chat feud allegedly escalated into a deadly drive-by shooting at Penn Park in York. Police say the May 5 attack left 15-year-old Dy Qual Harris dead after people inside a car opened fire into a crowd near the basketball courts. Investigators contend several juveniles took part and that at least one teen is now facing homicide-related charges.
Charging documents obtained by the York Daily Record trace the conflict to an Instagram group chat involving rival crews identified as Southside and Parkway. Investigators wrote that in the time leading up to the shooting, individuals in the rival gangs/groups were arguing, and said that the back-and-forth online spilled into the neighborhood, where it allegedly turned into gunfire.
According to police, sealed arrest warrants were filed in early May and later opened after a judge’s order. Authorities have said at least one suspect was taken into custody in late May. As WGAL reported, the district attorney credited surveillance video and witness identifications with helping detectives zero in on the teens, while investigators continued to look for additional persons of interest.
What Police Say Happened
According to charging documents reviewed by the York Daily Record, a blue Mazda repeatedly drove around Penn Park, following a path that started at Pershing Street and Lafayette Avenue and included Lindberg Avenue. As it circled the park, people inside the car allegedly fired into a group gathered at the basketball courts.
Investigators say they collected 19 shell casings from the scene, including 9mm and .22 caliber rounds. Witnesses later identified the driver and passengers, according to police, naming 15-year-old Troy Brown Jr. and 17-year-old Kveyon Shue among those in the vehicle. Investigators allege Shue was fired from a front seat. Court filings state that Harris was hit in the shoulder and later pronounced dead on the west side of the basketball courts.
Charges, Hearings And Community Fallout
Court papers charge Brown Jr. with homicide and conspiracy. He is being held at York County Prison without bail and, according to the filings, is scheduled for arraignment in York County Common Pleas Court on July 21. A 42-year-old relative mentioned in the documents faces felony witness-intimidation and obstruction counts and has posted $75,000 bail.
Community leaders and the district attorney have urged anyone with information to talk to investigators as they continue to track down other people named in the filings. That outreach, along with neighborhood surveillance footage, has been central to the case’s progress so far, according to WHP.
