Shelter shooting leaves 1 worker dead, 1 hurt

A FORMER RESIDENT of a North Philadelphia homeless shelter who had been removed by police Friday night returned Sunday morning with a gun and shot two employees, killing one of them, authorities said.

The shooter, whose identity had not been released as of Sunday night, remained on the run after escaping on foot along train tracks behind the Station House shelter, on Broad Street near Lehigh Avenue, where the shootings occurred.

Former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr., the volunteer CEO of Self Inc. - the company with which the city contracts to provide services at Station House - said the gunman had come back to the shelter with one thing on his mind.

"My understanding is that he came in with the intent to shoot," Goode said. "I don't know of any security measure that we would have had in place that would have prevented what happened."

As Station House residents milled outside the shelter in the bitter cold Sunday, they marveled at the sacrifice that the slain worker had made for them.

"I'm eternally grateful," said shelter resident Lou Averill. "It's unfortunate that his life was taken but I'm thankful he was there to guard us and protect the people in the building."

According to Goode, the shooter had been a resident of the shelter - until sometime Friday night.

"The resident was actually taken out by police on Friday because he was not cooperative," Goode said. "He was what we call 'protocoled out.' His behavior was not what we could tolerate here."

A police spokeswoman confirmed that cops had responded to the shelter Friday night. However, neither Goode nor the spokeswoman could confirm reports that the man was evicted because he was intoxicated. It was also unclear if the man was charged with a crime on Friday or if he was taken to a hospital for a mental-health evaluation after police were called.

It was around 6:15 a.m. Sunday that the man returned to the shelter, entering through the front door with food-service workers making an early-morning delivery, said Marie Nahikian, director of the city's Office of Supportive Housing.

The man first opened fire at the front desk, which is "maybe four or five yards" from the shelter's entrance, Goode said.

"One worker was at the desk, the other worker may have been there as well," Goode said. "I know one worker ran and the perpetrator ran behind him and ended up shooting him in a room, quite a distance from where he started."

Goode said he was not sure whether it was the slain or surviving worker who ran from the gunman.

According to police, the slain worker, who was in his early 40s, was shot once in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. The other employee, who is 26, was shot once in his left hip and was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition, Nahikian said.

Police and shelter officials did not release the names of either victim.

After the shooting, the gunman ran from the building. He was last seen fleeing on SEPTA train tracks behind the shelter. The weapon he used had not been recovered as of Sunday night.

Shelter residents Averill, 37, and Matthew Formelao, 25, said they were awakened by the gunfire and took cover in a bathroom with two other residents.

"We was holding onto the door trying to block the killer so he wouldn't come in," Formelao said.

Averill recalled "a lot of commotion" outside the bathroom door.

"Someone was running around from room to room," Averill said. "We didn't know if it was the shooter or somebody running from the shooter, so just to be on the safe side, we didn't open the door."

Averill said he used Formelao's cellphone to call police from the bathroom.

When the men felt safe enough to emerge from the bathroom, they learned that one of the shelter's beloved workers had been killed.

"He was a good guy who was just doing his job and helping people by getting them off the streets," Averill said. "Unfortunately, there's people in this city that need a lot of help, and apparently whoever did this needs a lot more help and some justice to go along with it."

Formelao, who has been living at the shelter for more than three months, described both workers who were shot as good people.

"They try to keep the bad people out of here, but the bad people find their way in here," Formelao said. "The workers help us a lot. They talk to us. They always do their job good. It just hurts me a lot."

Nahikian said both workers were residential aides who "have been here for a while."

"The people who work in our shelters are pretty amazing," Nahikian said, fighting back tears outside Station House. "This employee was well-loved by the residents and staff here - and believe me, when you're a shelter worker and the residents love you, then you've got to be pretty special."

Goode echoed those sentiments, saying he'd met the slain worker on visits to Station House.

"He was just an incredible and incredibly faithful worker who loved his job and loved the people he worked with," Goode said. "[He] took money out of his pocket to help others. Both men are just incredibly passionate and compassionate employees."

In a statement released Sunday, Mayor Kenney called the shooting "a heartbreaking tragedy." He urged those in need of shelter services to continue to seek them through the city, especially in light of a Code Blue that went into effect Sunday night due to bitter temperatures.

"The City will also assist the shelter with a review of its security procedures as part of our continuing efforts to make all of our shelter[s] safe spaces for their residents," the statement read in part.

Goode said all residents are patted down as they enter Station House and the shelter is "as secure as [it] can be, given the population we deal with."

"The door is locked and someone goes to the door and lets people in," he said. "We will examine, with the mayor's staff, some additional security measures that may very well help."

Formelao said he would like metal detectors to be installed at the shelter, "so none of this ever happens again." Goode said he was not aware of any city shelter that uses metal detectors.

Station House, a shelter for single men, houses up to 100 people per night, Nahikian said. The shelter is not far from Temple University's main campus. The building was once home to the North Broad Street Station of the Reading Railroad.

"We've never had a shooting or anything like this in a shelter before," Nahikian said. "Philadelphia shelters are generally good, comfortable places to be - as comfortable as you can be and still be in a shelter."

According to Goode, Self Inc. is a $5.5-million-a-year program with about 105 employees. The agency runs six shelters in the city and services about 600 homeless people every night, Goode said.

As police continued to look for the shooter, Goode implored him to come forward.

"To him I say: 'Please turn yourself in, because it's only going to end very badly for you if you don't,' " the former mayor said.

Police did not release a description of the suspect, except that he last was seen wearing a green hoodie, black skullcap and blue jeans.

But Nahikian said he is known to many people.

"A lot of residents here knew him and there were a lot of people who saw what happened," she said.

Tipsters should call the Police Department at 215-686-8477.

215-854-4225

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