Man kills brother, 2 others in Kensington
A 46-year-old man shot and killed his brother and two others inside a Kensington rowhouse early Sunday morning, then barricaded himself inside until he was coaxed to surrender by a 911 operator he had called, according to police.
A 46-year-old man shot and killed his brother and two others inside a Kensington rowhouse early Sunday morning, then barricaded himself inside until he was coaxed to surrender by a 911 operator he had called, according to police.
The gunman, whom police did not identify on Sunday, allegedly killed his brother, his brother's girlfriend, and an unrelated third man with a shotgun inside the house on the 600 block of Westmoreland Street. A fourth person was also shot, police said, but survived and escaped with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police released no motive for the crime, and did not identify the gunman or any of the victims. The shooting occurred during a violent weekend in Philadelphia: Authorities said four people were killed - including a 4-year-old girl - and seven injured in shootings across the city Saturday and Sunday.
Police responded to the triple homicide on Westmoreland Street after receiving a report of gunshots around 3:45 a.m.
When they arrived, the man inside the house refused to open the door and began yelling at officers, authorities said, telling them he had a shotgun, that he had shot someone, and that he would not come outside.
The man then called 911, apparently because he didn't believe that the uniformed officers in front of the house were police, Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan said Sunday.
Over the course of the next hour, Sullivan said, the dispatcher kept him on the phone in an effort to get the man to surrender.
The SWAT team, meanwhile, also went to the scene. When SWAT officers climbed onto the roof of the house, the gunman fired a shot toward a skylight, Sullivan said. No one was hit, and police did not return fire.
Around 5 a.m., Sullivan said, the dispatcher's convincing apparently worked - the man walked outside and was placed in custody.
"They were able to convince him that it was the police [outside] and he did surrender," Sullivan said.
Officers who went into the house after the arrest found a gruesome scene: A man was in the living room with "massive head injuries" from a shotgun blast, police said, and another man and a woman were found face-down on the dining room floor with shotgun wounds to the head.
A fourth victim, who survived, was found earlier by police a few blocks away. He was taken to Temple University Hospital to be treated for his injuries, police said.
Charges against the alleged shooter were still pending on Sunday afternoon, said Sgt. Eric Gripp, police spokesman.
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Staff writer Rob Tornoe contributed to this article.