7 killed in 24 hours in Philly

Seven people were fatally shot in less than 24 hours Monday in Philadelphia, a staggering number early in a year in which the city has already experienced a troubling uptick in homicides.

One of the victims, 15-year-old Darius Winters, was standing with two other people on the 2900 block of Morris Street in South Philadelphia just before 8 p.m. when gunfire rang out.

Darius, who lived in East Germantown, was shot in the chest and left elbow and ran into a nearby house before collapsing. Officers rushed him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died a short time later, authorities said.

Police Homicide Capt. Jason Smith said it appears to be a case of “mistaken identity,” with the killers targeting someone other than Darius.

He was the 62nd person murdered in Philadelphia since Jan. 1. At this time in 2020, a year with a near-record homicide total, 40 people had been killed.

Some of the shootings this year have been the result of online feuds, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of use of social media, and things are happening in real-time,” she told reporters.

Outlaw said the department is bolstering its use of social media in investigations.

Nearly 40 additional officers have been deployed to Kensington to crack down on the drug trade, which is also driving some of the violence, she added.

In Kensington on Monday, medics pronounced two men dead at the scene of a shooting.

Officers found Thomas Burnett, 61, and Maurice Harper, 42, with multiple gunshot wounds just before 3:30 p.m. inside the house where they lived on the 2900 block of Rosehill Street.

A suspect is in custody, but police have not identified that person because charges have yet to be filed, Smith said.

A 25-year-old woman died after being shot twice in the head and once in the leg just after 2 p.m. Monday on the 200 block of Rubicam Street in Olney, police said.

Investigators said a 29-year-old man was also injured in the shooting. He was later listed in stable condition at Einstein Medical Center.

No one has been arrested in connection with the killing.

Christine Gibson, 54, was shot and killed Monday morning at her workplace, a drug rehabilitation center in East Falls.

The shooting occurred at United Peers on the 4200 block of Ridge Avenue, and authorities arrived at the scene just after 8 a.m.

Smith said a suspect has been apprehended.

Early Monday morning, just before 1 a.m., police found a man and a woman who had been shot on the second floor of a property in the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Hill Creek Apartments in the Crescentville section of Northeast Philadelphia.

Jehesel Garcia and Steven Williams, both 24, died at the scene. Both lived at the home on the 500 block of W. Hill Creek Drive, authorities said.

Detectives have developed a suspect in the case, and an arrest is likely imminent, Smith said Tuesday afternoon.

In other crime news, a 25-year-old man was shot six times at around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday on the 3500 block of Ruth Street in Kensington, police said.

He was taken to Temple University Hospital and listed in stable condition.

A 50-year-old Center City man was inside his apartment on the 1500 block of Locust Street at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when multiple suspects broke into through the front door, assaulted him and tied him up, authorities said.

They fled with $4,000 in cash and several valuable watches, according to investigators.

Police said a 37-year-old man was stabbed about 10 times in the chest, back and abdominal area at around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday inside a house on the 5700 block of Delancey Street in West Philadelphia.

He was transported to Penn Presbyterian, where he was in critical condition.

A driver fled the scene of a fatal crash Monday night on the 1800 block of N. 33rd Street in Strawberry Mansion.

Authorities said a 49-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed just before 11 p.m. Investigators did not provide a description of the vehicle.