Six people injured in three shootings across Philadelphia in a violent early morning
Words were exchanged by two groups of teens in Tioga, leading to three people shot including one man who police believe was a bystander.
Six people — including two teenagers and a person police believe was a bystander — were injured in three separate shootings across Philadelphia in a violent Wednesday morning.
Just after 2 a.m., police responded to the 1900 block of West Allegheny Avenue, in the Tioga neighborhood, for a report of a person of a gun. Officers found three people with gunshot wounds: a 15-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, and a 44-year-old man, police said.
The two teens had been walking with a group on Allegheny Avenue, near 19th Street, when they encountered another group of juveniles walking in the opposite direction, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
The two groups exchanged words, he said, and a man pulled out a gun and fired shots into the other group, he said.
The 15-year-old was hit in the foot and the 17-year-old was struck in the leg, police said. The 44-year-old man, who was not associated with either group, was struck in the buttocks by a stray bullet. All three victims were taken to Temple University Hospital and listed in stable condition.
At least 21 shots were fired, said Small.
The scene in front of Compass Self Storage late Wednesday morning was quiet, save for the sounds of commuters getting off the bus and traffic on Allegheny Avenue. Yellow crime scene tape was still wrapped around the railing in front of the storage center, inches away from chalk circles marking where shell casings fell.
Then, shortly after 3 a.m., police were called to the area near East Elkhart and Almond Streets in the Port Richmond area, where they found two men, ages 35 and 27, with gunshot wounds, police said.
The two victims were walking a dog when an unidentified shooter approached them, police said. After an argument broke out, the suspect pulled out a gun and fired multiple times.
The 35-year-old man was hit in the arm and was listed in stable condition, while the 27-year-old was hit four times in the chest, once in the neck, and twice in the lower body, and was listed in critical condition, police said. Both victims were taken to Temple University Hospital.
Police are searching for the gunman, described as a man in his late 50s with a gray beard, wearing a gray zip-up jacket, pants, and black shoes. The suspect was last seen fleeing eastbound on East Elkhart Street, police said.
Less than an hour after the double shooting, another person was shot, this time in North Philadelphia.
Officers arrived at the 2000 block of North Bodine Street at 3:49 a.m. to find a 56-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the stomach, police said. The man was taken to Temple University Hospital and is listed in critical condition, police said.
A motive for the shooting was unclear.
No arrests had been made for any of the shootings.
Authorities ask that anyone with information call the Philadelphia Police Department’s tip line at 215-686-8477.