CAMDEN, N.J., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A New Jersey man who survived a tour in Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine was killed outside a Camden bar where a friend was having a birthday party.
Timothy Loper Jr., 27, was shot early Sunday morning in the 20 Horse Tavern parking lot, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He was apparently trying to break up a fight.
Police said Tuesday they had a suspect in the killing, WCAU-TV in Philadelphia reported. Investigators were searching for Darrell Crone, 31, who had been identified from a security camera videotape.
Loper's father, Timothy Sr., told the Inquirer his son was living in Pine Hill, N.J., with his wife and young daughter and working in a dental lab.
"He did a one-year tour in Afghanistan and can't even come home and hang out with his friends," the father said. "It's turned into a danger zone."
The killing was Camden's 51st homicide of the year and the second outside the 20 Horse Tavern.
Loper was in the Marines from 2008 to 2012 and remained in the Ready Reserve. His father told WCAU he was also going to school part time.
