New Central High grad is victim of gunfire between feuding groups

On Wednesday, 18-year-old Shakuwrah Muhammad graduated from Central High School with her entire life ahead of her.

Just three days later, it was ripped away when she was killed by a stray bullet in West Oak Lane - the innocent victim of gunfire between two feuding groups of men, police said.

Muhammad was one of several victims of senseless violence throughout the city this weekend, including two people who were critically injured in a hit-and-run accident and three people, including a 3-year-old girl, who were hurt in a bizarre domestic incident.

Known to her friends as "Kuwrah," Muhammad was out on Rugby Street near Johnson, less than a mile from her home, at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday when she was caught up in a fight between two groups of men, police said.

When the groups opened fire, Muhammad, who had "no involvement with the altercation," was shot once in the chest by a stray bullet, police spokesman Sgt. Ray Evers said.

She was the only victim.

Muhammad was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 1 a.m., police said.

A Facebook page in her memory had more than 600 fans as of last night, many of whom were her Central High classmates.

"Still don't want to believe this," one poster wrote. "I can't believe that this has happened. . . . People have lost their damn minds . . ." wrote another.

Though they had yet to make an arrest, police said that they had good information on the two groups involved in the shooting, and they continued to interview witnesses yesterday.

Cops also have a good lead on the person responsible for a hit-and-run in North Philadelphia early yesterday morning that left a man and woman in critical condition.

The driver ran down the couple while operating a 2002 Mercedes Benz on Fifth Street near Indiana about 4 a.m., according to police.

The driver ditched the car several blocks away. Police said that they impounded the vehicle and questioned the owner, who gave them information as to who may have been driving the car at the time of the crash.

Police did not release the suspect's name, nor did they release the ages of the victims, who were both in surgery yesterday at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

At 2 a.m. yesterday, a 23-year-old man was shot four times on Judson Street near Cambria, in North Philadelphia.

The victim, whose identity was not released, survived being shot twice in the chest and twice in the groin, but he remained in critical condition last night at Temple University Hospital.

Several victims of a bizarre incident in West Philadelphia on Saturday fared better with their injuries.

About 11 a.m. in the area of 54th and Berks streets, a domestic incident broke out involving a 27-year-old woman, her 28-year-old boyfriend and her 35-year-old ex-boyfriend, police said.

The ex-boyfriend, identified by police as Ryan Williams, allegedly confronted his ex's new beau and stabbed him in the arm.

The current couple took off in their car, a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, and were tailed by Williams, who rammed them with his 2007 Jeep, Evers said.

The couple lost control of their car as a result and struck a 33-year-old man and a 3-year-old girl who were standing on the corner of 54th and Berks, police said.

The man and child were taken to Lankenau Hospital in stable condition, as was the 28-year-old man who had been stabbed by his lover's ex, police said.

Though all the details weren't clear, Williams was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania by medics for unknown injuries he suffered, but by the time cops responded to the hospital, he was gone, Evers said.

Police were searching for Williams, whose address was not immediately available.

Cops also were looking for the person responsible for the murder of Rudolph Wilkerson, 61, of Fifth Street near Tasker, who was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his head in an industrial area in South Philadelphia early Saturday morning.

Police believe that Wilkerson was shot on Wolf Street near Swanson about 12:30 a.m. and that the crime occurred there.

Anyone with information on any of the above crimes is urged to call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS.