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Philadelphia is seeing unusual spike in violent attacks against women

So far, five women have been killed and four others wounded since July 12.

Lylliana Mendoza, 35, left, and her stepdaughter, Aslemarie Torres, 19,  were killed in a double shooting in Fairhill on July 12.
Lylliana Mendoza, 35, left, and her stepdaughter, Aslemarie Torres, 19, were killed in a double shooting in Fairhill on July 12.Read moreProvided by family

A string of violent incidents in the last two weeks has left five women dead and three women wounded in Philadelphia since July 12.

There are no links between any of the six separate cases and there is no reason believe this is anything more than an unusual spike in the number of incidents involving  women. At least two of the cases stemmed from recent breakups of relationships and a third was classified as a domestic dispute.  In recent years, about 85 to 90 percent of homicide victims in the city have been men, according to police data.

Here is a breakdown of the cases as of Thursday morning.

• On Thursday, Philadelphia police searched for a 25-year-old man who allegedly critically wounded his 21-year-old ex-girlfriend and killed her 48-year-old mother in a double stabbing. The incident, prompted by a recent breakup, occurred at 2 a.m. in the 2700 block of Daly Terrace in South Philadelphia.

• On Wednesday, in the city's Kensington section a 38-year-old man shot and critically wounded his 48-year-old wife. Police later shot and wounded the husband who pointed a weapon at officers. The events unfolded about 7:30 p.m. in the 400 block of East Somerset Street near the SEPTA station.

• On Tuesday,  a 32-year-old man, who killed his ex-girlfriend, killed himself after a seven-hour standoff with police in East Germantown. Michelle Saint-Aude, 25, of the 1200 block of East Sanger Street, died from gunshot wounds after she was shot four times following an argument with the suspect in the city's East Germantown neighborhood. As she lay on the street bleeding, the man stood over her and fired another shot into her body, police. She died at Einstein Medical Center at 1:53 p.m., police said.

• Also on Tuesday, a 42-year-old woman was critically wounded about 7:30 a.m. when she was struck in the face by a stray bullet while driving a car in the city's Logan section, police said. She was taken to Einstein Hospital. No arrests have been reported.

• On July 12, Lylliana Mendoza, 35, and her stepdaughter Aslemarie Torres, 19, were shot and killed while sitting in a pickup truck in front of their house on Lawrence Street. The women were pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been reported.

• Also on July 12, Rosalind Wicks, 57, was stabbed four times in the neck and also assaulted with a hammer about 7 a.m. in her home on the 5500 block of North Hill Creek Drive in Crescentville. She was pronounced dead there at 7:38. Wicks' daughter was taken to Einstein Medical Center for a head injury received in a struggle with the attacker, police said. No arrests have been reported.