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Violent 24 hours in Philly: 4 shot in Center City, 3 killed citywide

In one case, a homeowner shot two people who were trying to climb a fence to get onto his property, police said.

On Sunday morning, July 16, 2017, a pedestrian walks by the sidewalk at 22nd and Fitzwater that is marked up with chalk circles indicating where police found shell casings, 34 in all, from a gun fight that happened around midnight Saturday night.
On Sunday morning, July 16, 2017, a pedestrian walks by the sidewalk at 22nd and Fitzwater that is marked up with chalk circles indicating where police found shell casings, 34 in all, from a gun fight that happened around midnight Saturday night.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer

A violent 24 hours in Philadelphia left four people dead and several others, including a 15-year-old boy, injured in at least seven separate shootings across the city.

As of Monday morning, no arrests had been reported in any of the shootings.

4 shot, 1 killed in southwest Center City

The gunfire began late Saturday night on the 2100 block of Fitzwater Street in southwest Center City.

Police said that just before midnight, they found four people shot, including a 28-year-old man who was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and later pronounced dead. Authorities on Monday identified that man as Kristian Hamilton-Arthur, who lived a few blocks away from the shooting scene.

The three other victims — ages 19, 36 and 24 — who suffered various wounds to the leg and back, were transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in stable condition. All had been released from the hospital by Monday.

Police said a preliminary investigation indicated the four victims were near the intersection of 22nd and Fitzwater Streets when gunshots were fired from one or two vehicles, which then fled north on 22nd Street. All told, police found 34 shell casings scattered across the intersection from three weapons that were found at the scene. No motive for the shooting was known.

"I was on the phone and all of a sudden I hear pop-pop-pop-pop, like a lot of them," neighborhood resident Leigh Schemanski told CBS 3, adding that she had never heard gunfire outside her home before.

Homeowner shoots 2 suspected intruders in Frankford, 1 fatally

A little less than two hours later, two people were shot on the 4700 block of James Street in the city's Frankford section.

Police said the victims – a 45-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman – were both shot in the head by a 69-year-old homeowner who told police he fired because he thought the victims were trying to climb a fence to get onto his property. Police initially reported both victims were killed, but later said the female was critically injured.

The alleged shooter, whose identity was not released, was taken into custody but had not been charged.

No further information was available Monday morning.

Man found dead in Queen Village parking lot

The fourth death occurred around 7:20 a.m. Sunday, when, police said, they found a man shot and killed lying facedown in a parking lot on the 1000 block of South Fourth Street in Queen Village.

Benjamin Smith, 42, had been shot in his chest a few blocks from his home, police said.

No motive was known as of Monday.

4 others hurt in separate shootings

Police reported at least three additional nonfatal shootings from early Sunday through the night:

  1. Just before 1:30 a.m., a man sitting inside his black Mercedes-Benz on the 2000 block of North 29th Street told police he was shot in the back by an unknown man who then fled on foot. The victim was in stable condition, police said.

  2. Just before 2 a.m. at a strip mall on Harbison Avenue near Roosevelt Boulevard, police found a man shot multiple times in the back and chest. No information was available on his condition.

  3. Around 4 a.m. in the Fairhill section of the city, police found a man shot in the leg. A black Chevrolet Monte Carlo was seen driving away from the scene, police said.

  4. Just before 11:30 p.m., a 15-year-old boy was shot several times on the 400 block of Alcott Street in Crescentville. He was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center in critical but stable condition.