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Drive-by shooting wounds 3 in Kensington

Three people were injured in a drive-by shooting tonight in Kensington, targeted by a violent gunman wielding an assault rifle, police said.

It was the second shooting on the block — a tiny, one-way side street­ — in as many days.

Just after 6 p.m.,  Josue Pizzaro, 25, his cousin Stephanie Rivera, 22, and an unidentified man were sitting outside Pizzaro's home on Boudinot Street near Auburn, according to Susalyn Marrero, Pizzaro's mother and Rivera's cousin.

They were hanging out, taking in the fading sun of a late-summer evening, when a gold minivan pulled up in front of them, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

A man stood up through the van's sunroof, pointed an assault rifle at the three and opened fire.

Pizzaro was struck in the foot as he fled. Rivera took four shots to her abdomen. The third man, 33, was shot in his right thigh.

The van sped away as quickly as it had arrived, heading north on Boudinot, Small said.

Marrero was upstairs with her 9-year-old daughter and her 10-year-old son when she heard the gunfire. She told the kids to "duck down" as she ran from the room.

Panic filled her mind as she darted down the stairs. Pizzaro met her at the front door.

"He kept screaming call 9-1-1, call an ambulance," said Marrero. She peeked outside and saw Rivera,  blood soaking her shirt at her abdomen. Marrero could see the holes in her stomach.

Medics took all three victims to Temple University Hospital, where they remain tonight in stable condition, Small said.

That came as a relief to Marrero, a newcomer to the block — she's only been in that house since July, she said.

"To have this happen outside my house...we weren't expecting this," she said, adding that she has no idea why her family was targeted.

"I don't know what to do; we just moved in and now we have to move again."

Investigators don't know what sparked the shooting, but Small said it's clear that at least one of the three victims was targeted by the gunman, who fired at least nine shots at them.

There was no additional information on the suspect. Police are interviewing several witnesses and searching for surveillance footage from nearby cameras, Small said.

The violence came a day after a 24-year-old man was shot while standing at the corner of Boudinot and Auburn, a few yards from Marrero's home.

In that shooting, the victim was shot in his right leg about 11:13 a.m. Sunday after a blue Buick sped away from gunfire further up the block.

That victim was taken to Episcopal Hospital by a private vehicle, but later transferred to Temple, police said. He was treated and released.

There is no information on a motive or suspect in that earlier shooting.