In response to the violence, Mayor Jim Kenney announced late Thursday night that his administration will hold public information sessions next week to share strategies to ‘address this public health crisis and create safe, healthy communities’.
Gunfire took place at about 3pm on Thursday in the parking lot of an apartment complex on 1400 N00 Street in 1400 in the town of Overbrook Park.
The shooting claimed the lives of a 24-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy.
According to police, a 30-year-old man and a 19-year-old man were also shot. Both were hospitalized in an extremely critical condition.
One of the bullets hit Valerie Owen’s home.
“I heard a lot of shots,” Owen said.
She said the bullet pierced her grandson’s bedroom window on the third floor.
“The bullet came in and went through and hit the door. If he had been sitting there, he would have fired,” Owen said.
SEE ALSO: Police: The murder of 15-year-old boy in Kingsessing turns out to be a random act of violence
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said residents probably saw the gunman.
“Given the number of people shot at one time … it’s not only enigmatic, but it makes us believe that there are more people here who know what happened,” Outlaw said.
The second shooting took place around 7.36pm when police said someone had set fire to a leisure center on the 5500 block of Christian Street.
According to police, four men left a small sports car and beat three teenagers in court near a school.
A sixteen-year-old boy has died after being shot in the neck. He was identified as Kyrie Simmons.
Two other 15-year-olds grazed in the shooting. Both teens are expected to survive.
Police said it was not clear if the 16-year-old was the target.
“My daughter is 6,” said Ed Carr, a nearby resident. “You do not want your child to be here in this kind of environment.”
Kimberly Sciulli, who lives nearby, told Action news her son was shot three years ago.
“He’s not dead. We can no longer blame the police systems, any other systems, we really need to get it together,” Sciulli said.
The third shooting took place at about 11:20 p.m. in Point Breeze.
According to police, a fight broke out in a group of people on the Tasker block in 1900.
Someone opened fire and a man legally owning a gun fired back.
After the crowd dispersed, someone shot through the windshield of a house and hit a 37-year-old woman, police said.
An 18-year-old man was found outside Dickinson with gunshot wounds.
Both victims were stable.
Police are looking for four men in this case.
Minutes before the third shooting of the day, Mayor Kenney released his statement on Thursday’s violence, referring to the other two incidents.
“2021 on the road is the most violent year we’ve ever had in our lifetime. We can not stand it because we are losing an entire generation to this constant scourge of gun violence. We must stand up with one united voice to end this horrific violence, and work together to achieve the goal, ‘said Mayor Jim Kenney in a statement.
The mayor said the public briefings would begin Wednesday afternoon.
No arrests have been made in connection with these incidents. Anyone with any information is asked to call the police at 215-686-TIPS.
SEE ALSO: 15-year-old in custody after teenage girl was shot dead in Cobbs Creek area of Philadelphia
Read Mayor Kenney’s full statement:
“Once again, our city has been shocked by senseless gun violence. Tonight we have lost a 15-year-old tragedy that lies ahead of their entire lives. I express their sincere condolences to their family during this unimaginable time. At least two other teenage victims will never be the same,” for they must now recover from gunshot wounds that have afflicted their young bodies and experience the long-term consequences of this trauma.
“Earlier this afternoon, another shooting claimed the life of one man and injured others – including two teenagers. At this rate, 2021 offline is the most violent year we have experienced in our lives. We can not stand it if we lose an entire generation to this constant scourge of gun violence. We must stand up with one united voice to demand that this horrific violence come to an end, and work together to achieve this goal.
“From next Wednesday afternoon, our administration will hold regular public information sessions to share the strategies that are underway to address this public health crisis and create safe, healthy communities. We will be open about our challenges and transparent about carry the solutions and resources we bring to reduce violence across the city. ‘
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