Woman crossing street hurt, woman in bed nearly struck as 19 shots fired in shootout

A woman just crossing the street was shot in the leg while another bullet narrowly missed another woman asleep in bed after it pierced her bedroom window as at least 19 shots were fired in a North Philadelphia shootout.

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The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, on Lehigh Avenue and North Marshall Street, according to investigators. Police said people inside a black car were arguing with a group on the corner. After the car drove off, people inside the vehicle opened fire, shooting a 25-year-old woman who was walking down the street.

Philadelphia police officers found the woman bleeding on the ground about a half a block away at the intersection of North 6th Street and West Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

"She was in a lot of pain and was unable to get up, even though she was conscious and talking," Small said.

Medics rushed her to a nearby hospital where she was treated for a gunshot wound to her knee.

"It's possible that she was an innocent victim struck by stray gunfire," Small said.

Bullet casings could be seen circled on the ground, hundreds of feet from where the woman was shot. Police found evidence that at least 19 shots were fired, investigators said.

As police continued to investigate the shootout, they found a bullet hole in the window of a woman's home even further up Lehigh Avenue at North Fairhill Street.

"A stray bullet went through the window of a home.. narrowly missing a women -- just by a few feet -- who was laying in bed," Small said. "We are very, very lucky that she was not struck by gunfire."

The woman, who is in her 70s, was not hurt.

“I was peeking through the window but I ducked down the floor fast when I heard the boom, boom. My aunt jumped up and made some noise. I went downstairs. That’s when I saw the bullets came inside her window,” Pablo Fernández, the woman’s nephew, told NBC10. “It could’ve hit her. Thank God it was at 2 o’clock in the morning. If it was 2 p.m. in the afternoon, maybe she would’ve been running around the house.”

Investigators hoped that surveillance video would help them track down the shooters, Small said.

Police hoped anyone with tips would reach out to the Shooting Investigation Group at 215-686-8270 or through the tip line.

Editor's Note (Oct. 23, 2024, 9:40 a.m.): Philadelphia police updated the total number of shots fired to at least 19.