Philadelphia residents rallied at City Hall today to calling on the city to invest $100 million to tackle Philly’s gun crisis. NBC10’s Danny Freeman has the story.
At least two people died and several were wounded, including three in a triple shooting, as gunfire rang out across Philadelphia Friday night into Saturday.
The victims, who range in age from 19 to 33 years old, were struck in separate shootings that happened in North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia and Olney, said Officer Tanya Little, a Philadelphia Police Department spokeswoman. Police did not immediately make any arrests in any of the shootings.
In Olney, a 20-year-old and a 22-year-old had walked to a convenience store on the 5900 block of N. Front Street to buy some food and cigars around 10 p.m. Friday when gunfire rang out, Little said. Police responded to reports of the shooting and found the 20-year-old man on the street with multiple gunshots throughout his body. Officers rushed him to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:47 p.m.
The 22-year-old also had multiple gunshot wounds, and police rushed him to the same hospital, where he underwent surgery and was in critical condition, Little said.
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In North Philadelphia, police responded to a shooting around midnight Saturday and found an unconscious 24-year-old man with gunshots to the head and upper body on the 2000 block of W. Dauphin Street. He died less than 15 minutes later at Temple University Hospital. Little said police were looking for two suspects: a man with braided hair and a short man wearing all black clothing, both of whom were last seen running south on Lambert Street toward Susquehanna Avenue.
Shortly after 2 a.m., police found a 32-year-old man with multiple gunshots to the chest and arms on the 2200 block of W. Toronto Street. He was listed in critical condition at Temple University Hospital.
Shortly before 7 a.m., three more men were shot on the 2100 block of Ridge Avenue at what Little said was an illegal after-hours club.
One of the victims was a 21-year-old security guard who managed to return fire but was struck various times in the right leg. He was in critical but stable condition, Little said. A 33-year-old man was shot once each in the left arm and both legs and was also in critical but stable condition. A 25-year-old man was hit in the left elbow but was in stable condition at Pennsylvania Hospital.
In South Philadelphia, a 19-year-old man walked into Mercy Catholic Medical Center with a gunshot to the abdomen shortly after 4 a.m., Little said. He told police he had begun walking to a store when he heard gunshots in the area of the 1400 block of S. 4th Street. The man started running but felt pain in his abdomen and stopped to sit down and call his friend, who took him to the hospital. He was transferred to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was in stable condition.
In Southwest Philadelphia, a 26-year-old man was shot once in the leg on the 2500 block of Island Avenue. He was recovering at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Saturday night, another 34-year-old man was shot multiple times in the back of head on Plymouth Street. He was later pronounced at Einstein Hospital.
The shootings come despite local and federal leaders announcing this week an all-hands-on-deck approach to combating gun violence and finding and prosecuting offenders.
They also come as the city continues to see increased shootings, both deadly and nondeadly.
As of April 9, the PPD had reported 132 homicides – through both gunfire and other means – in the city. During the same time last year, which ended as the deadliest Philadelphia had seen in six decades, there were 100 homicides. As of April 8, the District Attorney’s Office had reported 388 nonfatal shootings.
Neither the PPD’s nor the DAO’s figures reflected the violence that unfolded Saturday.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
