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Police: Man fatally shoots two during drug robbery in Frankford, dies from gunshot wounds suffered in shootout

At least four other people were in the house at the time, according to Ryan: Gaddy’s mother, his girlfriend, his 13-year-old son, and a 2-year-old child.

Police respond to triple shooting on Saul Street in Frankford on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. (Courtesy Angie Hundley)
Police respond to triple shooting on Saul Street in Frankford on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. (Courtesy Angie Hundley)Read moreCourtesy Angie Hundley

A 31-year-old man fatally shot two men during an attempted drug robbery inside a Frankford home Thursday night, then died from gunshot wounds he suffered during the shootout, according to police.

Homicide Capt. John Ryan said at a news conference Friday that detectives believe Chris Young, 31, entered the home on the 5100 block of Saul Street just after 8 p.m. on the pretext of doing a drug deal with Terrance Gaddy, 31, who lived there, and Juan Rodriguez, 30. But shots began flying, Ryan said, and Young killed Gaddy and Rodriguez.

Young, who also was shot, stumbled outside and collapsed, Ryan said. Police found him with cash and cocaine, and took him to Temple University Hospital, where he later was declared dead.

At least four other people were in the house at the time of the shooting, according to Ryan: Gaddy’s mother and another woman, Gaddy’s 13-year-old son, and a 2-year-old child. None was injured, but Ryan said the 13-year-old witnessed at least part of the incident and called 911.

Ryan said police do not think anyone else was involved in the shooting. “We believe Mr. Young acted alone,” he said.

Young had been released from prison in April after serving a sentence for pleading guilty to a gun-related charge, according to court records.

No one answered the door Friday afternoon at the home where the crime occurred. The window on the front door was broken, shards of glass were on the front steps, and drops of blood were on the sidewalk.

Angie Hundley, who has lived on the block for 16 years, said she used to speak to Gaddy a few times a day and was surprised by the crime.

“We are all close,” she said of residents on the block. “Everybody knows everybody.”

The triple homicide marks the third time in three weeks that three or more people have been killed in a homicide incident in the city.

In the first incident, on the 5100 block of Malcolm Street in West Philadelphia, police have said that 32-year-old Jahlil Porter killed four people — two sisters and two men raised as stepbrothers — during a drug deal that turned into an armed robbery. Porter was charged last week.

On Thursday, police charged Tahzay Young, 23, with committing a triple murder inside a Tioga rowhouse where he had been boarding. Young is accused of killing the 92-year-old homeowner, the man’s 60-year-old companion, and her 57-year-old brother, then stealing items including televisions and credit cards.

As of Thursday, 322 people had been killed in homicides in the city this year, more than in all of 2017, according to police. The city has not recorded this many homicides in a year since 2012, when 331 were slain, statistics say.