Man was protecting mother in baseball bat killing, police believe

A domestic altercation turned deadly Wednesday, when a 23-year-old man, afraid for his mother’s life, hit another man with a baseball bat in a Logan alley, according to a preliminary police investigation.

Authorities said a woman called her mother and her brother and told them to dial 911 because her boyfriend was going to kill her.

When they arrived on the 900 block of W. Tabor Road, the boyfriend, a 32-year-old man, was very aggressive, police said, and all three began struggling to gain control of a wooden bat.

During the melee, the mother was hit in the head and fell down, investigators said. The boyfriend grabbed the mother tightly, and the brother hit him once in the head with the bat, according to authorities.

Medics pronounced him dead at the scene at around 5 p.m.

No charges had been filed as of Thursday afternoon, police said, and detectives are still investigating the case.

In other crime news, seven people were wounded in separate shootings in Philadelphia in less than 24 hours Wednesday into Thursday.

At around 3 p.m. Thursday, shots were fired on the 1800 block of N. 54th Street in Overbrook, sending two men to the hospital.

A 28-year-old man was struck in the left leg and a 30-year-old man was hit in the right leg, police said. Both were listed in stable condition.

Authorities said a 34-year-old man showed up to Temple University Hospital early Thursday morning after a shooting just before 4:30 a.m. on the 4100 block of N. Broad Street in Nicetown.

He was being treated for two gunshot wounds to his stomach and is expected to survive, police said.

In Kensington, a 55-year-old man was shot once in the right leg just after 1:15 a.m. Thursday on the 2700 block of Kensington Avenue. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.

About an hour earlier, at around 12:15 a.m., a 33-year-old man was shot six times — in the back and both legs — outside on the 1700 block of N. Newkirk Street in Brewerytown.

Officers rushed him to Temple University Hospital, where he was in critical condition, according to police.

Minutes earlier, in a separate incident, a 17-year-old boy was driven to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center after being shot once in the forearm on the 1800 block of Diamond Street in North Philadelphia.

He is expected to physically recover, authorities said.

A 35-year-old man was in critical condition after being stabbed in the head and torso at around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday outside on the 3100 block of E Street in Kensington. Police did not find the weapon, and no one has been apprehended.

Earlier in the day, at around 4:30 p.m., a 24-year-old man was taken to the hospital after being shot once in the right knee on the 1800 block of S. 6th Street in South Philadelphia, authorities said.

He was in stable condition at Jefferson University Hospital following the shooting.

Authorities reported no arrests in the immediate aftermath of any of the shootings.