Southwest Philly woman killed by gunshot

A 39-year-old Southwest Philadelphia woman died Saturday after being struck by a bullet that was meant for her son, police said.

The woman, whose name police have not yet released, was shot once in her side about 11:50 a.m. She was sitting on the steps of her home on the 5200 block of Reinhard Street, said Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

Shortly before the shooting, a large group of girls had been in a melee, Walker said. The victim's son, who is in his 20s, intervened in the fight and exchanged words with some other males, Walker said.

The fight ended, but a gunman soon returned in a car and opened fire on a group sitting on the victim's steps. The woman was sitting next to her son when she was hit.

"The whole thing should have ended with the fight," Walker said. "But someone went home and got a gun."