Two hurt in South Philly shooting

Two hurt in shooting

in South Philly

* Juniper Street near Fitzwater

A shooting left two men wounded, one critically, Wednesday afternoon in the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza housing development in South Philadelphia's Hawthorne neighborhood.

The men were shot about 1:45 p.m. and police found them near the shooting scene on Bainbridge Street near 13th.

One man who had been shot in the back was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition, police said. The other man had been hit in the foot and was stable at Jefferson.

Cops: Man in SUV rammed squad car

* Welsh Road near Craig Street

A police officer was treated Wednesday for neck pain after an SUV purposely rammed his squad car while the officer was following another SUV that was believed to be stolen, police said.

The officer was following the stolen black Jeep Wrangler in Holmesburg about 1:45 p.m., cops said, when a white Jeep intentionally hit the back of his car. Both SUVs fled the scene.

Police later found the black Jeep unoccupied about two blocks from the scene and the white Jeep in neighboring Holme Circle, also unoccupied.

Slain 22-year-old ID'd by police

* Florence Avenue near 54th

Street

A man killed in a shooting at a brothel in Kingsessing Tuesday night was identified Wednesday as Shirkey Warthen.

Police said Warthen, 22, lived on Ruby Street near Springfield Avenue near the crime scene.

He was shot five times, including twice in the chest, and a 34-year-old woman was wounded in the right knee. Gunfire erupted about 10 p.m. following an argument at the residence, described by police as a known location for drug activity and prostitution. Warthen died at 11:40 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Police did not disclose the nature of the argument, but said that they believe the victims knew the person who shot them. Immediately following the shooting, cops said, several other adults who were in the house at the time were taken to be interviewed by detectives.

- Stephanie Farr, Morgan Zalot and staff reports