What to Know
- Police say a man was ambushed, shot and killed while outside a North Philadelphia mosque. Philadelphia police say the 43-year-old man was headed to the mosque Tuesday evening when he was shot multiple times in the parking lot.
- Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small says surveillance footage shows the victim walking with another male when the shooter runs up behind them and starts firing shots at the victim.
- He says responding officers found the man lying in the parking lot with gunshot wounds to his head, chest and torso. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. No suspect has been arrested and a motive wasn't known.
A man is dead after he was shot multiple times while headed inside of a North Philadelphia mosque Tuesday afternoon, Philadelphia police said.
Just before 5 p.m., police were called to the 1500 block of Germantown Avenue for the report of shots fired, Philadelphia Police Chief Police Inspector Scott Small said.
When police arrived, they found a man -- later identified as 43-year-old Raheem Jefferson -- lying in a parking lot of the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, including at least one shot to his head, Small said.
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Jefferson was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, Small said.
"The scene is in the parking lot of a mosque, a place of worship," Small said.
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There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
There was evidence that at least 17 shots were fired from a large caliber semi-automatic weapon, according to officials.
Small said police have at least one witness to the homicide and there are multiple surveillance cameras in the area.
In at least one of the camera angles police viewed, Small said you can clearly see Jefferson walking with another man to the mosque for a prayer service.
In a video, that was shared online and police confirmed it is a part of their investigation, the shooter runs up behind Jefferson and from a few feet away begins firing shots. One of the men runs off while the other falls to the ground. (Warning: The video of the shooting is graphic)
When Jefferson falls to the ground, the shooter stands over him and fires more shots, Small said.
"Clearly an execution-type homicide," Small said.
The shooter was last seen leaving the parking lot and getting into a dark colored sedan that possibly has a replacement tire or donut tire on the right front passenger side. The shooter is described as a man wearing all dark clothing.
"I hear the shots from inside. One of the employees came to me and tell me to tell the management to call the cops," Ashraf Abdelrazek said. He was inside the mosque at the time of the shooting.
The person that was with the victim was not hurt in the shooting and is a witness, Small said.
At this time there is no further information from police.
"And when I first moved here, it was kind of a waste land, and people got killed regularly," Bruce Metcalf, who works near the mosque, said. "You know I was hoping that had changed."
NBC10 reached out to the Al-Aqsa Islamic Center but they declined to comment.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Philadelphia Police Department's Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or call/text the PPD's tipline at 215-686-TIPS. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
There is a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Despite this killing, homicides in Philadelphia are down significantly year over year with at 153 as of Wednesday morning, according to police data. That's down about about 38% and the lowest year-to-date total since 2015.
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