In violence-plagued city, no news is good news

Philadelphia Police celebrated a rare occurrence this weekend - so rare, in fact, that officers couldn't recall the last time the city marked such an occasion.

A weekend free of murder.

Officers with the city's homicide division and with public affairs were stumped when asked about the last time the city experienced a homicide-free weekend.

"It's been a while," said police spokeswoman Officer Tanya Little.

As of Thursday at 11:59 p.m., the city had marked 113 homicides this year, down 23 percent from 147 murders at the same time last year, Little said.

The city also experienced relatively little violent crime this weekend, she said.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, there was a double shooting at 28th Street and Gray's Ferry Avenue, according to police.

A 23-year-old man was shot multiple times in his stomach and a man in his early-to-mid 30s was shot once in his stomach, Little said. Both were taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania by a private vehicle.

Initially, both men were listed in critical condition but have since been upgraded to stable, Little said. Their identities have not yet been released.

Little said that that was the only case this weekend of victims of crime being critically injured by their attackers.

On Saturday, shortly after 1 p.m., an automated-teller-machine technician reported that an ATM on Allegheny Avenue near Front Street had been burglarized.

The amount of money stolen from the machine is estimated at between $117,000 and $138,000, Little said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is handling the case, according to city police. FBI spokeswoman Jerri Williams, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

According to Wachovia Bank's Web site, the targeted ATM is a Wachovia machine located at the Fairhill Financial Center. *