Man, 25, found shot dead in car in NE Philadelphia

Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man found shot in the chest in a car in a quiet neighborhood in the Mayfair section this morning.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire at about 5:20 a.m. found the victim slumped over the wheel of a green Dodge Stratus in the common driveway behind the rowhouses on the 7500 block of Brous Avenue, police said.

The victim, identified as Jerry Edwards, 25, of the 6700 block of Oakland Street in the Castor section, was pronounced dead at the scene about 5:35 a.m., police said. He had been shot in the chest.

Chief Inspector Scott Small said the shooter fired at least three shots from a .40-caliber pistol at close range.

Such a crime - let alone a shooting - was "very unusual" for the neighborhood, Small said.