Two shot fatally in West Phila. bar

A man and a woman were shot dead early Friday inside the Corral, a West Philadelphia bar under the Market Street El with a history of violence.

Police said a man walked into the small tavern at 5231 Market St. and opened fire at 1:38 a.m., hitting the victims.

Troy Wimberley, 38, a married father of three from West Philadelphia, was shot in the head, chest, both arms, and a finger, his family said. He was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Crystal Shadding, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said that they believed the shooting was related to a domestic situation and that both victims had been targeted. Police were searching for a suspect.

The bar reopened later Friday. Wimberley's family complained that it should have remained closed.

"You open the same day two people got killed? Where's the respect?" asked Ronald Wimberley, 45, Troy's brother.

"I hope it gets shut down," said Sabrina Wimberley, 44, Troy's wife since 2004. "How many more got to die?"

At the Corral, the owner of the property and former owner of the bar, Thomas Hannah, 70, said the bar was being scapegoated for the crime and violence that pervades the neighborhood.

Hannah, a retired Philadelphia police officer and owner of two other West Philadelphia bars, said he was forced by the District Attorney's Office two years ago to sell his liquor license for the Corral.

Sitting at the bar, wearing a cowboy hat and brown leather jacket, Hannah said the establishment was not dangerous.

"If it was like that, I'd be afraid to be in here," he said.

The mood was somewhat subdued as modern hip-hop and old R&B played on the jukebox. The bar was brightly lit with about 15 patrons inside.

Darnell L. Reynolds, 26, a customer, said Wimberley was his friend.

"He was a good guy," Reynolds said. "I don't think he deserved that, but you've got to watch your back in these streets."

According to Hannah, Wimberley had been shot at a few days earlier. Hannah said he did not know a motive for that incident.

When Wimberley was 19, he was shot in the head, his family said. He recovered, but had seizures throughout his life. He had stints of work, but mainly relied on government disability payments.

His brother said Wimberley would coach youth basketball at a recreation center at 48th and Brown Streets.

Wimberley's son is 19 and his daughters are 14 and 2, his family said.

"He was a devoted father," his brother said.

The family said it did not know the woman. At an address listed for her in the 7100 block of Theodore Street in Southwest Philadelphia, there was no answer at the door Friday evening. A neighbor said the people who had lived there moved out several months ago.

In 2007, the Corral was the scene of several shootings, including at least one slaying, that prompted officials to vow a cleanup in an area once known as the Main Street of West Philly.

On Friday evening, warrant officers were questioning two women outside the bar.

Hannah said the officers were looking for parole violators and people with guns.

"They come in here every weekend," he said.