Fatal Shooting In Allentown Was Self-Defense, DA Says

"The homicide was justified on the basis of self-defense," Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

The trouble began on the 700 block of North 11th Street on July 9.

Edwin Diaz-Rivera, 37, and the home's residents got into a dispute that investigators say was paused when Diaz-Rivera told them he would return to the home with weapons and other people.

Diaz-Rivera left and eventually returned a few minutes later with three other people around 11 p.m., the DA said.

Surveillance video and witness accounts proved that the group forced their way into the home, where the same victim of the initial argument was shoved into a glass coffee table that shattered, authorities said.

That's when one of the occupants of the home, who legally owned and possessed a handgun, shot and killed Diaz-Rivera and then called 9-1-1, authorities said.

The DA says an autopsy showed that Diaz-Rivera had alcohol and THC, a component of marijuana, in his system at the time of his death.

The Lehigh County Coroner's Office ruled the cause of death to be gunshot wounds and the manner of death homicide.

However, no criminal charges will be filed against the person who shot Diaz-Rivera and that person’s identity will not be released, DA Martin added.

Under Pennsylvania law, a person may use deadly force to protect themselves or others if the person believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat.

In this case, the entry by force and the continued use of force occurred at and in the home, and therefore the shooting is justified under the “Castle Doctrine,” the DA said.

Diaz-Rivera worked as a barber and was a celebrated local athlete, according to his obituary.

He was survived by his parents, significant other, nine children, and many other loved ones.

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