New York, October 2, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for police to investigate the motive for the fatal shooting of freelance journalist Josh Kruger near his Philadelphia home on Monday.
“We are deeply disturbed by the killing of freelance journalist Josh Kruger and extend our condolences to his colleagues and loved ones,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s U.S. and Canada program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “We call on investigators to thoroughly investigate his killing to determine whether the attack was related to his work.”
A representative of the Philadelphia police department told CPJ by phone that it was too early in the investigation to establish the killer’s motive.
Kruger covered homelessness, addiction, HIV, poverty, and trauma, and his work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Citizen. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Kruger worked for the city for five years in various communications roles and returned to journalism in 2021.
Since 1992, when the Committee to Protect Journalists began documenting the killing of journalists, 15 journalists and media workers have been killed in the U.S. in connection with their work.