Two underage teens were among the seven wounded when an argument spilled onto the street and led to gunfire outside a Philadelphia social club.
Police responded to the Golf and Social Bar on the 1000 block of Delaware Avenue in Fishtown around 8 p.m. after someone triggered a robbery alarm, Philadelphia Police Department Deputy Commissioner Joel Dales said. Police found two victims inside the club and two in a nearby 7-11, and three later arrived at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, PPD Cpl. Jasmine Reilly said
The victims range in age from two 17-year-old boys to a 42-year-old man, Reilly said. The 42-year-old man was shot in the chest and in critical condition, an 18-year-old man was shot under the right armpit and also in critical condition, as was a 23-year-old who was shot in the chest and leg, Reilly said.
The rest of the victims were in stable condition.
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Dales said the shooting seemingly stemmed from some sort of altercation that happened inside the club and then spilled out. Surveillance video showed a gunman firing into a crowd of people standing on the street, leaving their blood and at least 21 spent shell casings on the ground, Reilly said.
One person of interest was taken into custody, Dales said.
Video also showed people standing around an SUV and a sedan parked in the nearby Rivers Casino parking lot before they left in another sedan, Reilly said. Police found two semiautomatic handguns in the SUV, while the first sedan was listed as stolen. Both vehicles were impounded by police.
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Dales said the area is not typically on the department’s “radar,” but the social club is known to be “problematic.”
The shooting was just the latest in a wave of gun violence roiling Philadelphia, nor was it the only mass shooting in recent weeks.
Earlier Friday, a gunman killed an 11-year-old boy who was riding his bike in the Oxford Circle neighborhood. Police did not immediately make an arrest. Last week, meanwhile, one person died and five were wounded when gunmen opened fire at a Nicetown party.
Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said after the Nicetown shooting that there would be more police officers assigned to high-crime areas. Residents have also protested and called on Mayor Jim Kenney to stem the gunfire, but the violence has continued unabated.
Philadelphia police crime statistics showed at least 777 shootings as of the week ending March 21. There have also been 114 homicides as of March 26.
Outlaw said she’s worried that as the weather warms, more people will get shot.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
