Woman killed in quadruple shooting in Kensington
A woman was killed and three men were wounded when gunfire erupted on a crowded Kensington block early Tuesday evening, police said.
This post has been updated.
A woman was killed and three men were wounded when gunfire erupted on a crowded Kensington block early Tuesday evening, police said.
Officers were called to Somerset Street near Lee shortly before 6 p.m. for the report of several people shot outside on the street, Chief Inspector Scott Small said at the scene.
A 21-year-old woman who was shot twice in the torso was rushed to Episcopal Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m., Small said. Three other victims, men ages 18, 21 and 35, were taken to Temple University Hospital, each suffering multiple gunshot wounds to their legs and abdomen. All three were listed in stable condition around 7:30 p.m., Small said.
Police said witnesses told them the block had been crowded with people all day, and that several fights -- possibly over drugs -- broke out earlier. Investigators were looking into the possibility that the shooting is related to those fights.
Emmanuel Negron, 23, was coming out of a corner store across the street from the shooting when he heard the shots.
"The lady was over there laying down. They picked her up and put her in a car," Negron said. "It was so much commotion right here. So many people were trying to get her out."
Nancy Agosto, 36, another neighborhood resident, was also near the block when the shooting broke out. Agosto, who grew up in the neighborhood, shook her head as she surveyed the broad-daylight shooting scene.
"It's crazy. Innocent people," Agosto said. "I've got a daughter myself. She's five. It's scary."
Police described the shooter as a man with a light complexion, 5 feet 3 to 5 feet 5, who wore a dark T-shirt and jeans. He was last seen running west on Somerset Street.
Police are unsure which, if any, of the victims was the intended target, and were still sorting out the circumstances surrounding the shooting around 7:30 p.m.
Residents who stood at the end of the trash-strewn block watching police investigate said they've had enough of the shootings in their neighborhood -- which become commonplace, especially once the weather gets warm.
"It's crazy, man. I have a son, I've been trying to get out of this area. I can't do this," Negron said. "The weather gets warm and people start acting like animals out here."
Negron, the father of a 1-year-old boy, said he felt for the woman who was shot as he watched her lie on the ground, bleeding.
"I can't imagine how she was feeling. With a crowd of people outside, they [the shooter] didn't care," he said. "I don't want my son around this s---."
Anyone with information about this shooting or any other crime should contact police at 215-686-TIPS (8477), or text a tip to PPD TIP (773847). Tipsters may remain anonymous.