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Man arrested for quadruple shooting that killed 3 in Mayfair

Edwin Vargas also is charged with murder that occurred on Jan. 3. Vargas has been in custody since Jan. 18 for an earlier gun incident.

Distraught onlookers speak to police after a quadruple shooting in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia on Jan. 9 left three young men dead.
Distraught onlookers speak to police after a quadruple shooting in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia on Jan. 9 left three young men dead.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer

A 24-year-old man is facing murder charges for the deaths of three young men in a quadruple shooting Jan. 9 in the city’s Mayfair section, police said.

In a separate case, Edwin Vargas is also charged with a murder Jan. 3.

Vargas had already been in custody since Jan. 18 for a gun incident Dec. 30, according to court records.

While Vargas was in custody, police connected him to the Jan. 3 shooting. Vargas was charged this week in that case.

The Jan. 9 quadruple shooting happened just before 10 p.m. on the 7300 block of Rowland Avenue at the intersection of Crabtree Street.

Three men — ages 18, 19, and 24 — were killed. A 28-year-old man survived the shooting but was hospitalized in critical condition.

Police found 50 spent shell casings at the scene.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said on Twitter that homicide detectives on Tuesday had obtained an arrest warrant for Vargas in the quadruple shooting.

Vargas was being held without bail for the earlier single homicide.

Court records show Vargas has been in and out of jail as an adult since late 2016, when he pleaded guilty to firearms violations.

Last July, Vargas pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a telecom device.

On Aug. 30, he was released from prison.