Another night of gun violence in Philadelphia took the lives of two men, including a 76-year-old out for a walk, and injured three others.
The three separate shootings late Monday night into Tuesday morning spread across the city – from West Philadelphia to Frankford.
At daybreak Tuesday, a 76-year-old man was gunned down as he returned home from his morning walk in Juniata Park, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Officials identified him as Loi Nguyen of the 4200 of L Street. Police initially reported two different ages for Nguyen, but family clarified his correct age is 76.
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Officers found Nguyen unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his head shortly after 5:30 a.m. on the 4200 block of L Street, just feet from his home. Police said the gunman was standing close to him when they opened fire.
“This is a tragic homicide," Small said Tuesday morning. "Why someone would shoot a 76-year-old male returning to his home after taking his morning walk – which family says he does on a regular basis – we don’t have a motive right now. We don’t know if robbery was a motive. We don’t know if this individual was targeted for some reason."
Police said there were numerous cameras in the neighborhood and some of them did record a portion of the fatal shooting.
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Late Monday night, a 47-year-old man was sitting on his porch near 61st and Vine streets in West Philly when he was shot and killed, police said.
On Wednesday police identified him as Maurice Whitehead of North Salford Street.
Investigators said two gunmen walked up on the sidewalk and started shooting around 11:30 p.m. Whitehead was struck in the chest and back, police said. He ran inside to the bathroom where he died. Police believe Whitehead was targeted by the men.
Around the same time, a 62-year-old man and a dog were injured in another shooting in West Philadelphia. The man was grazed by a bullet on his back at Malcolm X Park on Pine Street. A dog was struck, too, though it is unknown where on its body. The pup taken to Penn Animal Hospital for treatment.
Across the city, shortly before 1 a.m., Philadelphia police said nearly 50 shots were fired on a street corner in the city's Frankford neighborhood.
Small said when officers arrived at Northwood and Arrott streets – near the Simpson Recreation Center – they found only one person with a gunshot wound, but dozens of bullet casings. The man, 25, was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital by police.
A short time later two other men turned up at the hospital. A 25-year-old shot in the face was in critical condition. And a 24-year-old man was shot in the thigh, police said.
As of Tuesday morning, there were at least 244 homicides in Philadelphia this year, down 5% from the same time last year which was ultimately the deadliest in the city on record.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
