2 men dead, 5 others wounded in North Philly shooting

Two men were killed and at least five others were critically wounded in what appears to have been a gun battle Tuesday night in North Philadelphia, police said.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m., gunfire erupted on the 3200 block of Fairhill Street near Allegheny Avenue, said Chief Inspector Scott Small. Responding police officers transported four victims to Temple University Hospital.

Roger Marquez, 31, from the 800 block of Bridge Street and 38 year old Leon Pierre from the 1300 block of Unity Street, were then pronounced dead at the hospital. Two of the other victims police transported to the hospital, ages 30 and 19 years old, were placed in critical condition.

The remaining three victims were transported by private vehicles to Temple, Temple’s Episcopal Campus, and to Jefferson Einstein Hospital. Two of the victims are 33 years old and the third is 34, according to police.

Police found four handguns and a rifle dropped on the ground around the shooting scene, as well as more than 70 spent shell casings. Two homes were struck by stray bullets but no other injuries were reported.

“We believe that some of the victims were shooters,” Small said.

The surviving victims were in police custody at the hospitals while detectives tried to sort out what happened.

On Thanksgiving eve, the narrow, one-way block of North Fairhill Street was all quiet, save for the sounds of construction near West Willard Street and the rushing traffic of West Allegheny Avenue. But the remnants of the shooting were visible. At least six chalk circles marking where shell casings fell could be seen on the street. Three cars were riddled with bullet holes, marked by yellow tape. Bullet holes could be seen in the front windows of a nearby apartment building, the glass around the holes spidering.

Interim Police Commissioner John M. Stanford said law enforcement continued to look into possible motive Wednesday, though the shooting could be narcotics-related. As authorities continued to scour the scene for any surveillance videos, Stanford said the department is looking into increasing police presence in the area to ward off any retaliatory violence.