Police have identified and charged a man in connection to a deadly road rage shooting in South Philadelphia late Monday morning.
Derek Escribano, 22, is charged with 3rd degree murder in connection to the shooting death of 42-year-old Darren Whitfield.
Law enforcement sources told NBC10 the ordeal began with a fender bender involving two vehicles. Video shows the two cars involved speeding the wrong way down the 2000 block of Mercy Street shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday.
Police said Escribano and Whitfield then got out of the cars and confronted each other on the sidewalk.
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Gunshots are then heard in the video.
Tom Carman, a neighbor, told NBC10 he then saw Whitfield, who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds throughout his body.
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“I looked across the street and I saw the gentleman that was shot,” Carman said. “He was bleeding out on the street.”
Carman, along with other residents, tried to help Whitfield until police arrived.
“I tried to give some comfort to this man in this moment but it was bad from the moment I looked outside,” he said.
Responding police officers took Whitfield to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:23 a.m.
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Witnesses said Escribano remained at the scene and was taken into custody. A weapon was also recovered.
Before police announced the charges against Escribano, a source had told NBC10 they were investigating whether or not the shooting was in self-defense.
Neighbors said neither Whitfield nor Escribano lived on the block where the incident took place. The 2100 block of Mercy Street was closed until early Monday afternoon as police investigated.
“It’s very difficult. It’s also, it’s not about me,” Carman told NBC10. “There’s a family out there that lost somebody who means a lot to them.”
It's unknown at this time if Escribano has legal representation.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
