For about two hours tonight, it seemed like all hell had broken loose in the city.
During that short time span, police were called to the scenes of two separate murder-suicides and a pair of unrelated shootings that left two men fighting for their lives.
The spurt of violence started shortly after 7 p.m., when a 60-year-old Ukranian woman fatally shot her 90-year-old mother and then turned the gun on herself in East Mount Airy, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The murder-suicide occurred inside the victims’ home, on Gowen Avenue near Stenton. Both victims, whose names weren’t released, died at the scene.
Several neighbors who were out walking their dogs stopped when they saw yellow crime scene tape stretched around the handsome single home.
Small said the elderly woman’s husband had recently died, but it was unclear if that played any role in the murder-suicide.
About 8:30 p.m., an 18-year-old man was shot in the head on Duval Street near Germantown Avenue in East Germantown, Small said.
The victim, whose name wasn’t released, was admitted to Albert Einstein Medical Center in “extremely critical condition,” Small said.
Police arrested the shooter a few blocks from the scene, with the help of witnesses who identified him, he said. It was unclear, however, what motivated the shooting.
About fifteen minutes later, a man in his early 40s riddled his estranged wife with bullets and then fatally shot himself inside their home on Maple Avenue near Trevose in Somerton, Small said. Neither victim was identified by police.
“The wife had recently gotten a protection from abuse order, but that didn’t stop him from calling her or showing up,” Small said.
The man and his estranged wife were both pronounced dead inside at the scene, he added.
Finally, about 9 p.m., a robber shot and critically wounded a 52-year-old man inside a pizza shop on Cottman Avenue near Castor.
“He robbed the cashier and four patrons, and then for some reason, shot one patron in the chest,” Small said.
The victim was listed in critical condition at Aria Health-Torresdale.
Police arrested the gunman a short while later, with the help of the patrons, who all positively identified him, Small said.