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5 dead, 3 critical after 8 days of attacks on women

Four of the women were killed or gravely wounded in incidents of domestic violence.

Lylliana Mendoza, left, and her stepdaughter, Aslemarie Torres.
Lylliana Mendoza, left, and her stepdaughter, Aslemarie Torres.Read moreProvided by family

A stepmother and her stepdaughter murdered as they sat next to each other in a truck in Fairhill; a woman struck in the face by a stray bullet while driving to work in Logan; a young Frankford resident shot to death by her ex-boyfriend, who then turned the gun on police — and himself.

Since July 12, five women have been slain and three others critically injured in six cases across Philadelphia, a city where 85 percent to 90 percent of homicide victims are typically men.

Four of the women were killed or gravely wounded in incidents of domestic violence.

Most recently, a 48-year-old woman was stabbed to death and her 21-year-old daughter was critically injured when the younger woman's ex-boyfriend attacked them with a knife around 1:55 a.m. Thursday on the 2700 block of Daly Terrace in South Philadelphia, where the women lived, according to police. Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene that the suspect was upset because the younger woman had recently "dumped" him.

The identities of the victims and the suspect, who remains on the loose, have not been released.

Around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jose LeBron, 38, shot his 48-year-old wife in the neck in a house on the 400 block of Somerset Street in Kensington, police said. LeBron then fled to another home on the block, and when police arrived on the scene, he went out on the porch and took turns pointing his gun at his own head and then at police, authorities said. When LeBron allegedly refused to drop the weapon, seven SEPTA and city police officers fired at him. He was hit in the legs and arm but was listed in stable condition Thursday. LeBron's wife, who suffered a gunshot wound to her neck, remains in critical condition. LeBron faces attempted murder and related charges in the case.

Another suspect faced off with police Tuesday night into early Wednesday after he shot his ex-girlfriend to death, barricaded himself in a home, and fired shots at police during a seven-hour standoff, according to authorities.

Khalil Redding, 32, who had just been released from prison last month, allegedly went to the Frankford home of his ex-girlfriend, 25-year-old Michelle Saint-Aude, around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday and shot her repeatedly outside  the residence, police said.

Later, Redding was traced to a house on the 1300 block of East Haines Street in East Germantown, and at 6:30 p.m., a barricade was declared by police. During the standoff, Redding fired shots at police from the home, but no injuries were reported. At 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, authorities entered the house and found Redding dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Earlier Tuesday, around 7:30 a.m., a 42-year-old woman, whose identity has not been released, was struck in the head by a stray bullet that went through her windshield as she was driving to work on Rockland Street near 11th Street in the Logan section, police said. She remains in critical condition at Einstein Medical Center. Her shooter remains on the loose.

Last week, 19-year-old Aslemarie Torres and her stepmother, Lylliana Mendoza, 35, were shot to death shortly early on July 12 as they sat together in a truck parked in front of their home on the 3000 block of Lawrence Street in Fairhill. A neighbor with surveillance cameras said his footage showed a driver pulling up alongside the truck the women were sitting in and firing about two dozen shots into the vehicle. Authorities have not identified a suspect or a motive in the case.

Later that day,  Rosalind Wicks, 57, was stabbed four times and beaten to death with a hammer shortly after 7 a.m. in the kitchen of her home on the 5500 block of North Hill Creek Drive in Crescentville. Her daughter, who was also at home at the time, was treated for a head injury, according to authorities. A police spokesman said Thursday that no arrest had been made in the case but that detectives are "actively pursuing leads."

Staff writer Joseph A. Gambardello contributed to this article.