Police: Man shot, killed in Cheltenham in road rage incident

CHELTENHAM TWP. (WTXF) - Police are investigating following a homicide in Cheltenham Township Monday evening.

Family and friends of 28-year-old Rithina Torn gathered at the scene of his murder Tuesday night to remember the husband and father of two who lost his life in what police say was a road rage incident.

"He's loyal, caring and he's a strong person," said a close friend who didn't want to be identified.

Friends say Torn was a passenger in a car when they turned onto Dewey Road off Front Street Monday around 9:30 p.m. That's when a car drove in front of them and cut them off, according to police. Investigators say Torn got out and the driver of the second car shot him multiple times.

"His mother lost her only son--her only son," the family friend told FOX 29 outside the victim's home in Philadelphia.

Neighbors were upset and shaken by the murder in their quiet, tree-lined community. There's also growing concern about the recent string of local road rage incidents and traffic disputes that have ended in violence.

In late August, surveillance cameras captured a driver being shot by another driver on Cottman Avenue. Two weeks ago, a driver shot at a couple after an argument at a traffic light in Northeast Philadelphia. Last week, police say a woman ran over a man after an disagreement outside a Dunkin' Donuts. Another road rage incident in Fox Chase also ended in murder, according to police.

Detectives were working through the night on the investigation interviewing witnesses and studying surveillance video from near the scene.

Anyone with information concerning this homicide is urged to call the Cheltenham Township Police Department at 215-885-1600 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.

Anonymous tips can also be texted using MontcoCrimeTips on the STOPit! app.