Man critically wounded in shooting at recreation center in Logan

A 36-year-old man was hospitalized in extremely critical condition after he was shot in the back of the head Wednesday night at the Stenton Park Recreation Center in the city’s Logan section, police said.

Just after 9:15 p.m., police responding to the sound of gunshots and 911 calls found the victim facedown on a grass path near a basketball court at the recreation center at 17th and Courtland Streets, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

The man, who was unresponsive, was transported to Einstein Medical Center, Small said.

Police found seven spent shell casings starting at a basketball court and leading in the direction of the victim, who may have been running for his life with the shooter chasing him, Small said.

When police arrived, the lights were off at the recreation center and there was no crowd, so it was unclear if there were any witnesses, Small said.

Employees from the Department of Parks and Recreation arrived later to turn on the lights for police and help detectives check video from multiple surveillance cameras at the center, Small said.

Last week, Mayor Jim Kenney signed an executive order to ban guns at recreation centers and playgrounds. The order was in response to the fatal shooting of Tiffany Fletcher, a Parks and Recreation employee who was struck by a stray bullet from a nearby shooting while working at the Mill Creek Recreation Center.

The order was signed a day after Fletcher’s funeral. A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the case.

This week, however, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge blocked the city from enforcing the executive order.

The Gun Owners of America, on behalf of several state residents, filed a lawsuit the same day Kenney signed his order. After hearing arguments last Friday, Judge Joshua H. Roberts on Monday issued his ruling siding with the plaintiffs and ordering Philadelphia to be “permanently enjoined” from enforcing Kenney’s ban.

The lawsuit cited Pennsylvania state law that prohibits any city or county from passing gun-control measures. The preemption law, which the city has repeatedly sought to overturn, bans local government from passing gun-control measures that are stricter than state gun laws.