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Man killed in Southwest Center City after he was chased and shot at for two blocks

The gunfire erupted on the corner of 21st and Carpenter Streets around 1:30 p.m., leaving a 21-year-old man dead.

A 21-year-old man was shot and killed after suffering multiple gunshot wounds in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of the city Thursday afternoon. The man was chased across two blocks and died on the corner of 22nd and Montrose Streets. Bullet casings and blood trailed through the block.
A 21-year-old man was shot and killed after suffering multiple gunshot wounds in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of the city Thursday afternoon. The man was chased across two blocks and died on the corner of 22nd and Montrose Streets. Bullet casings and blood trailed through the block.Read moreEllie Rushing / Staff

A 21-year-old man was killed Thursday afternoon in a hail of gunfire that spanned two blocks in Southwest Center City, police said.

The gunfire erupted just before 1:30 p.m. at 21st and Carpenter Streets, police said. More than 20 shots were fired as the perpetrators chased the victim down the block. It was unclear whether the perpetrators were on foot or in a vehicle.

The man, wounded by the initial shots, ran west on Carpenter toward 22nd Street and through Julian Abele Park, then made his way to a rowhouse at 22nd and Montrose Street, where he knocked on a door for help, police said.

An assailant, however, caught up to him and fired more shots. The victim, whose name has not been released, retreated around the corner of the house, but the gunman continued shooting.

Homicide Capt. Jason Smith said it was too early to know how many people were involved in the shooting, but two different firearms were used. He said the cartridge casings found at 21st and Carpenter were for a .40-caliber handgun, while those found at 22nd and Montrose were for a 9mm pistol.

The casings littered across the two blocks, connected by a thick trail of blood.

Jack Barry, 33, who lives on Montrose, was home when the shots began. He said he heard three bursts of gunfire and called 911. When he ran outside, he saw dentists from the nearby Family Dentistry rush out with gauze and towels to try and stop the bleeding.

“They were all covered in blood,” he said, “and they were trying to do CPR."

“It’s really alarming,” said Barry. “We have a lot of kids on this block.”

Police said multiple surveillance cameras captured the shooting and detectives would try to identify the suspects from the recordings.