Girl, 10, two others hurt in West Phila. gunfire

Three people, including a 10-year-old girl, were shot in West Philadelphia last night after an altercation between two groups turned violent, police said.

The girl was hit in one calf and the two other victims, men ages 22 and 23, were shot in the legs. The men were taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the girl was sent to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. All were in stable condition last night, according to Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

Walker said the two groups were about to get into a fistfight on South Ruby Street, near the 5300 block of Chestnut Street, when an older resident intervened about 8:40 p.m. A witness told police that as the groups split up, one of the young men said he was going to return with a gun.

Minutes later, an unidentified man fired eight shots toward a group on Ruby, hitting the three victims. It was not known whether the two men who were wounded were connected with the initial fight, Walker said, but the girl lives on the block and was not related to them. - Matt Katz