Man pleads guilty to shootings that killed 2 teens in Philadelphia, officials say

A man has pleaded guilty to two separate shootings that killed two teenagers in Philadelphia, according to NBC10’s partners at KYW Newsradio.

Zaakir McClendon, 21, was connected to the 2022 shooting outside of Roxborough High School that killed 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde as well as a 2023 shooting that killed 16-year-old Nafis Betrand-Hill, police said.

Deadly shooting outside Roxborough High School

On September 27, 2022, around 4:41 p.m., police said officers responded to reports of a shooting near the Roxborough High School football field. When they got to the scene, they found five shooting victims.

One of the victims, 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde, was pronounced dead shortly after at an area hospital, police said. Four other victims, all teenagers, sustained gunshot wounds ranging from graze injuries to more serious leg and arm injuries.

Five individuals had been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting. However, police said after an extensive investigation, detectives who processed the crime scene recovered more evidence, including a DNA profile that matched then-20-year-old Zaakir McClendon.

Police said detectives then obtained McClendon’s phone records, which showed frequent contact around the time of the murder with at least two individuals already charged in the case.  

McClendon was arrested on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, police said.

Teen killed in North Philadelphia

According to the Philadelphia Police Department, on Thursday, April 13, 2023, just before 9 p.m., police officers responded to a shooting on the 2300 block of Montgomery Avenue.

Police said 16-year-old Nafis Betrand-Hill had been shot multiple times in the upper body. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:13 p.m. 

A firearm was recovered at the scene, along with eleven spent 9mm casings and twenty spent .40 caliber casings, according to police.

Police then announced on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, that then-20-year-old Zaakir McClendon of Philadelphia was arrested on the 5700 block of Torresdale Avenue in connection with this shooting.