Cops: City marks 5 murders this weekend, 3 within an hour

Five people were killed in the city this weekend - and three of them were shot to death within the span of an hour early Sunday morning, according to police.

The sad start to December began with the unthinkable case of 5-year-old Dashawn Harris, who was burned and beaten to death at the hands of his own mother and her boyfriend, police said.

Around 1 a.m. Saturday, Harris' mother, 23-year-old Lashay Patterson, allegedly found the boy unresponsive inside their home on 13th Street near Green in North Philadelphia.

He was taken by medics to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m., police said.

Those called to Harris' aid discovered he was covered in burns and bruises, injuries police said were caused by his mother and her 25-year-old live-in boyfriend, Christian Patrick.

Both Patterson and Patrick were charged with murder and related offenses for Harris' death.

At 10:48 p.m. Saturday, a 17-year-old boy was shot once in the head on Croskey Street near McKean in South Philadelphia, police said. The victim, whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead on scene. His killer remains on the loose.

Sunday morning was particularly bloody, beginning at 2:34 a.m., when 20-year-old Victor Rodriguez was shot once in the head following an argument on 52nd Street near Spruce in West Philadelphia, police said. Rodriguez, of Schiller Street near H, was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 2:56 a.m.

An off-duty Chester city cop witnessed the shooting and took a suspect in to custody, police said. The suspect's name has not yet been released.

Around 2:58 a.m., a 45-year-old woman was shot several times while driving her 2000 GMC Yukon through North Philadelphia, police said. The woman, whom police have not yet identified, was on 27th Street near Indiana Avenue when she was hit by the gunfire.

She was able to drive off, but her car struck the nearby Whittier Elementary School. She was taken to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:25 a.m., police said.

Shortly after 3:30 a.m., a 35-year-old man was shot once in the neck on Hunting Park Avenue near 16th Street in Nicetown. He was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center by a civilian vehicle and was pronounced dead at 3:52 a.m. Police have not released his name.

The five homicides this weekend bring the city's murder tally to 305 this year, up from 303 at the same time last year, according to the latest statistics available from the police department.