Two brothers shot dead outside East Mount Airy home
Two brothers in their early 20s were shot dead outside their East Mount Airy home.
Two brothers in their early 20s were shot dead outside their East Mount Airy home Thursday night during a fight with a group of men, according to police.
Homicide Capt. James Clark said that one of the brothers was fighting with the group on the 300 block of East Upsal Street just before 11 p.m. when the other brother came out of his house to intervene. Clark did not identify the brothers, but family members said they were Symir Yelverton, 23, and Raheem Martin, 24.
As the fight raged on, Clark said, one of the men in the scuffle "pulled out a gun and shot both."
The other men fled. Clark said detectives were searching Friday morning for surveillance videos or witnesses that could help identify potential suspects. Police did not recover a weapon at the scene. Clark said at least two men were involved in the fight but declined to say how many were in the group.
Angelina Hinson, a sister of Yelverton and Martin, said the two had moved to East Mount Airy about a month ago to live with a cousin and look for work. They grew up with Hinson and two other siblings in South Philadelphia, she said, describing Yelverton and Martin as "really close — they were like twins."
Each man had a young child, Hinson said: Yelverton a daughter, Martin a son. She said the brothers were each quick with a joke and liked rap music — especially Meek Mill — and movies with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. They also liked riding bikes and hanging with friends outside.
Hinson said her brothers were not quick to back down from a fight, but she and her family had been devastated that anyone would kill them.
"I can't even find the words to express how angry and hurt I am," she said, adding that Yelverton's girlfriend was outside at the time of the shooting and held him in her arms after he was shot.
The killings were two of three homicides in Philadelphia overnight Thursday. In the other, an employee at a Swampoodle bar was gunned down during a robbery.
Including the two incidents, the city has recorded 41 homicide victims since the beginning of the year, according to police. Last year at this time, 27 people had been slain.
Tipsters for any slaying can call the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334. There is a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in any homicide case.