Victim in South Philadelphia killing had faced charges in 2007 attack

The 22-year-old man killed in an early-morning shooting Friday in South Philadelphia had been arrested in a 2007 shooting that left a man paralyzed, court records show.

Around 2 a.m. Friday, Rahsul Busbee and a 23-year-old man were in the front seats of a rented 2013 Kia Sorento on the 1700 block of Titan Street, near Wharton Street, when a gunman shot both in the back of their heads. The gunman is believed to have fired from inside the car, police said.

Busbee, of the 1200 block of South 21st Street, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other victim, whose identity was not released, was rushed by police to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he remained in critical condition Friday.

Police found crack cocaine in the vehicle with the victims but said they had no suspects.

In 2007, Busbee was charged with shooting a 23-year-old man in the chest, stomach, and legs, according to an arrest report.

The report provides the following account:

Busbee, who was 16 at the time, and three other men had argued with the victim in front of the 21st Street house where Busbee lived. When the man turned to walk away, Busbee and the other men opened fire.

While the man was down, one of the attackers put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not go off. The group then kicked the man unconscious. That man is paralyzed from the waist down with a bullet lodged in his spine.

The court case against Busbee, who was charged as an adult, was withdrawn by prosecutors in 2008 for "lack of prosecution," court records show.

Friday morning on narrow Titan Street, blood stained the asphalt. The bullet-ridden car had been towed to have fingerprints taken, and the block was quiet. Ripped police tape hung from stoop rails. Neighbors said they saw nothing.

Tipsters are asked to call the Police Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334.