Stray bullet hits East Germantown woman

A 58-year-old woman was struck in the face by a stray bullet while in bed in her home in the city's East Germantown section Friday afternoon, police said.

Shortly before 3 p.m. in the 5800 block of Morton Street, a bullet struck her second-floor bedroom window, pierced her chin, and lodged near her spine, said Lt. George McClay of the Northwest Detective Division.

About a block away, two armed men had opened fire on a silver Nissan, McClay said. One of the 13 bullets intended for the driver instead hit the sleeping woman.

Police rushed the woman to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where she remained in critical condition Friday night.

The woman's daughter and four children she was babysitting were in the house on the first floor. They were not injured.

Police found the Nissan a few blocks away, in the 500 block of East Mechanic Street, McClay said. They found the driver, and detectives questioned him. The driver said he did not know who was shooting at him, police said.

"He knows who was shooting at him," McClay said.

Police likely will offer a reward next week for information leading to the capture of the gunmen, McClay said.