Hail of bullets kills a class star in W. Philly, & all wonder why

Halim Lindsey stepped through the cool, quiet night air toward his friend's house, unaware of the person lurking in the shadows.

The ambush began moments after he passed a tiny alley on Redfield Street near Larchwood Avenue, in West Philadelphia, police said.

A gunman appeared and started blasting away like a madman, while Lindsey, 16, staggered up the front steps and collapsed onto the porch of his friend's house.

When the gunfire ended shortly before 9 p.m. Monday, Lindsey was sprawled on the concrete in a pool of blood, riddled with some 20 wounds, said Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl.

An hour later, the young man, who friends and coaches say was blessed with talent in the classroom and on the basketball court, was dead.

Police repeatedly noted that Lindsey, of Spruce Street near Cobbs Creek Parkway, had no criminal history.

No motive or suspects were reported in the slaying, and witnesses were tough to come by in the neighborhood where Lindsey was gunned down, police said.

Detectives are, however, trying to determine if Lindsey's murder is connected to another violent incident in his family.

On March 27, Lindsey's brother, Jafar Abdul-Mumin, 24, was the passenger in a car that was riddled with bullets at 55th and Walnut streets, police said.

Abdul-Mumin, who police say has a lengthy criminal history, suffered leg wounds in the shooting. The driver of the car, Thomas Frye, 20, was shot and killed.

Riehl said that investigators still don't have a motive in that shooting and tried yesterday to interview Abdul-Mumin.

"He's not cooperating," Riehl said. "No one in the family has any idea what this [Lindsey's death] is about."

Lindsey, a junior at the Paul Robeson High School for Human Services, was a star in the classroom and an occasional starter on the school's basketball team.

"Once Halim decided he did want to play basketball, he was very dedicated," said Rob Powlen, the team's coach.

Powlen said that teachers at the high school "raved about him. They said he was on a different [academic] level, compared with most of the kids in our school."

Teammate Jamair Williams said that he and Lindsey "grew up together. He was always by my side. . . . He was a very funny person who always kept everybody laughing."

Lindsey's older brother, Nurideen, starred last school year as a junior on Overbrook High School's basketball team, and made an oral commitment to attend La Salle University. He transferred to John Bartram High School, but did not play this past season.

Last night, a steady stream of relatives filed inside Lindsey's home to grieve with his family.

One of Halim's cousins, who did not want to be identified, said that the teen was an "A student" fascinated with graphic-design work.

More than a dozen yellow circles still dotted the pavement at the crime scene, marking the spot where shell casings had fallen. Shards of glass were swept neatly in a corner on the porch where Lindsey fell.

A father briskly moved his young son past the house yesterday, pointing at a small stuffed-animal memorial and the yellow marks on the ground.

"It's scary," the man said, as he nudged his son close to him. "This is a quiet block. It's a shame to see something like this happen." *