Belmont shooting leaves man, 23, critical

A 23-year-old man is in critical condition after police say he was shot several times in West Philadelphia's Belmont Section early Thursday evening.

Cops responded to Hutton Street near Parrish just after 6 p.m. and found the victim sitting in the driver's seat of a tan Chevy Impala that had crashed into concrete steps in front of a rowhouse on the block. He was bleeding from at least three gunshot wounds to the upper torso and shoulder, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

The man was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery around 7:30 p.m.

Police found at least four spent shell casings at the end of the block and more inside the car. They were investigating the possibility that the man shot may have exchanged gunfire with the person who shot him, and said the shooting may have been drug-related.

The victim is known to police in the area, investigators said. The daylight shooting -- the second in the Southwest Police Division within a little more than an hour today -- remains under investigation.