Cops: Gunman 'meant business' in West Philly shooting

A 21-year-old man was clinging to life after taking three bullets of more than 15 shots fired at him on a West Philadelphia block Tuesday night, police said.

Chief Inspector Scott Small said the shooting scene on Chancellor Street near 53rd was littered with 9mm shell casings and bullet fragments and marked by a Mercedes with a shot-out rear windshield near where the victim had been standing.

"He was supposed to be leaning against this Mercedes that was shot," Small said. "Most [spent shell casings] are within feet, so they came right up on him. They meant business."

Small said three eyewitnesses to the shooting, which erupted on the narrow block around 9:20 p.m., were taken to speak with detectives. The young victim was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with two gunshot wounds to his neck and one to his left leg and listed in extremely critical condition.

One other car on the street was also stuck by gunfire, Small said. No private surveillance cameras that may have recorded the shooting were found in the area, and police were unsure what motivated it.

Cops said though the block was crowded at the time of the shooting, nobody else was hit. Police remained at the scene investigating around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.