Philly Cop Charged With Attempted Murder of Son

When Dorion Young’s son walked away from him at the end of a holiday argument about the use of the car, the Philadelphia police officer raised his pistol and fired two shots at him. One went through his shoe. The other hit him in the back.

That’s according to Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, who announced Young’s arrest today at a press conference. The incident happened inside Young’s home on September 5th, Labor Day, in the Holme Circle section of Northeast Philadelphia. He was off duty.

“If you are a Philadelphia police officer, elected official or private citizen, you cannot use your gun to try to end an argument,” Williams said in prepared remarks during a press conference at the DA’s office. “Everyone, no matter who you are, no matter what you job is, no matter if you are rich or poor, will be held accountable for their actions. While this is a terrible, I repeat, terrible tragedy, there’s no excuse for what happened that day. Dorion Young will be held responsible for having shot his son.”

Young was home with his two sons and his oldest son’s girlfriend on Labor Day, according to police. Williams said Young started an argument with the son, saying he felt disrespected by the son’s usage of the family car. The son walked into his room. Young allegedly followed him and waived his personal gun, a .40 pistol, around. Police say he kept yelling, “You my son and you aren’t going to keep disrespecting me.” He called 911.

Then, according to police reports, he broke down his son’s door. A physical altercation preceded the shooting. Young’s son was transported to Aria Hospital; his spleen was removed. Williams said investigators looked at numerous types of evidence and conducted “more than a dozen interviews” before deciding to charge Young. He turned himself in today.

Young, who has been a police officer since 1991, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, both felonies, as well as three misdemeanors.

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