Man fatally shot near SEPTA bus
Gunshots panic Route 33 passengers in North Philadelphia
Samir Thomas was one of the few young people who always made time to talk to the older residents on his North Philadelphia block, his neighbors said.
He always was respectful, said one neighbor who declined to give his name.
Yesterday, the 19-year-old was fatally shot near a packed Route 33 SEPTA bus stopped at 21st and Diamond streets shortly after 2 p.m.
Police said the shooter walked up behind Thomas - who was not on the bus - fired at least two shots into the back of his head then fled.
Thomas was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he died about 3 p.m.
According to initial reports, the bus was struck by stray bullets, but Homicide Capt. James Clark refuted that, saying a passenger broke a bus window in an attempt to escape the nearby gunfire.
Yesterday, investigators combed the scene on Diamond Street between 20th and 21st streets as detectives whisked away bus passengers, who had rushed from the bus after it stopped at 21st and Dauphin. Police reported no other injuries.
The gunman is described as a black man, 6-feet-2, with a muscular build. He wore blue jeans and a blue shirt with an alligator imprint on it.
This is not the first time that the 33 bus made headlines after tragedy unfolded on or near it.
On May 17, 2005, Patricia McDermott, 48, of Abington, was shot once in the back of the head after she stepped off the 33 in Center City. Confessed serial killer Juan Covington was charged with her murder.
In 2007, Arnold Grissom, a 46-year-old carpenter, was shot twice in the head, allegedly by Cornelius Kelsey, 61, as he rode the 33 to work on March 13. Grissom survived; Kelsey was charged with attempted murder and other offenses. *
