Police: Kids witness dad's murder in North Philadelphia
Two young children witnessed a horrific act of violence late Thursday night when police say they saw someone shoot their father in the head, killing him, on a North Philadelphia street corner.
Police: Kids witness dad's murder in North Philadelphia
Two young children witnessed a horrific act of violence late Thursday night when police say they saw someone shoot their father in the head, killing him, on a North Philadelphia street corner.
Cops were called to Cornwall Street near Reese around 9:20 p.m. and found the 32-year-old victim lying on the sidewalk bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the head, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
He was pronounced dead on the pavement at 9:29 p.m., Small said.
Sources said the man's children, ages 9 and 10, were with him at the time and saw their father get shot at point-blank range. Other people who had been outside on the block at the time of the shooting scattered before police arrived at the scene, cops said, and investigators had to wait for a relative of the man to take the children to be interviewed by detectives.
Police said they were unsure why the man, who remained unidentified early Friday morning, had been targeted. They found one .45-caliber shell casing at the scene, but said people in the area told cops they heard two shots.
As police investigated the murder -- the city's 279th of 2012 -- grieving relatives of the man gathered briefly on 5th Street. One man sobbed and shouted in Arabic as he was comforted and taken away from the scene by two other men.
At this time last year, the city had 276 homicides, according to police-department statistics. In 2010, there were 264 murders year-to-date; in 2009, there were 248. Though numbers have trended upward in the last three years, 2007 holds the record in recent years, with 326 murders in the same period.
Two men wearing all dark clothing fled the scene immediately after the shooting, Small said. They both fled on Cornwall Street, but police were unsure whether they ran toward 5th Street or 6th. No arrests had been made as of 12:30 a.m. Friday, and the homicide remained under investigation.
A man with children is shot....and people on the block scatter?
How about sticking together, rushing to aid the father and children then staying around to talk to PPD?— 1000hugs- Im surprised they didnt have their cellphones out afterwards shooting video.— cerberus413
Comment removed.- @ 1000hugs,I was thinking the same thing,afterall it is the "City of Brotherly Love",right?!? Whatever!— terri3594
- What is 85?— The Usual Suspects
- the man's children, ages 9 and 10. And the PPD does not know who he is?— joedog
- @1000hugs: yeah, good luck with that. Personal responsibility? Acting in the best interest of the greater good? I'm SURE nobody will be able to identify the men who did it either. Nobody saw anything.— PotteryPete
- What in the world do you think people do when they hear gunshots, run toward where the shots are coming from? Please...the first thing people do is seek cover, and then look to see if they can figure out what's going on. Such a shame for these children and this family. If you're ever around someone shooting a gun, at people, go ahead...run to help instead of maybe running for help. I hope it works out for you.— phillyboy88
- This comment has been deleted.— ghostinthemachine99
- Where does this article say anything about race? The only time ethnicity is even remotely discussed is when a sobbing relative was said to have been shouting in Arabic. — 215PhillySean
- phillyboy- Absolutely right. It never ceases to amaze me how some of these commentors are not only pillars of our community who can do no wrong ever but also have the time to judge other folks' actions without a)understanding the exact circumstances other than the thousand word article they read on a site they continuosly bash for bad reporting, or b), having ever been in any sort of violent confrontation such as this.
To the person who talks about "rushing to the aid of the father", how many people did you see "rushing to the aid" of the innocent victims during the flash mob saga? I seem to recall reading about several downtown incidents, during times when THOUSANDS of non-criminals fill the streets, and no one even tried to break up the pack of thugs beating on people? Instead, people either ran or stayed & watched, only to tell everyone they know later how "crazy" it was. Many of those same people then went home and posted some ignorant comment about an entire race of people without even considering the fact they themselves did nothing to help the situation.
Everything you hate about a certain group of people that happen to share my complexion would be legitimized if you'd only see it for what it is: every group of people, regardless of how you want to divide them, has it's troublemakers and it's heroes. The police force is no different than an inner city neighborhood in that regard. Yet many people are quick to come to the defense of a shady cop but in the same breath will make negative comments about both the suspects AND the victims/witnesses in a situation like this. Absolutely pathetic.— jevans - How very, very sad for those children. My thoughts and prayers are with them.— msmame
- It is awful that the children had to witness their father's murder...but if they had been home in bed instead of out at 9:30 on a school night?— ken byers
- Rush to the aid... Easy to type from the comfort of home. Virtually impossible when real shots ring out. Human instinct will push you to safety. I've been there. Only after some time will your instincts allow you to rush to the aid of the victim.
I feel terrible for the children. The image of ther slain father will never leave their minds. Pray that they are somehow able to recover some normality in their lives.— DonQ
