Police identify officer involved in shooting

Authorities identified an officer Monday who shot a knife-wielding man last week in Feltonville.

Officer Gerald Murphy, who has been on the force for three years, fired his weapon after a man refused to drop a 10-inch blade and continued to advance even after officers used a taser on him three times, according to police.

Jose Cerda, 50, was shot in the chest and is in critical condition at Temple University Hospital, authorities said. He has been charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

Police were called to a property on the 4700 block of Rorer Street just before 11 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a man with a knife. When they got there, they encountered Cerda outside the house.

Murphy was not equipped with a taser, but at least two other officers who responded to the scene were, and they used the weapons to no effect after ordering Cerda to drop the knife, police said.

Authorities said Murphy fired two shots after the third taser deployment did not bring Cerda down. Murphy had backed up 225 feet into the street and commanded Cerda to drop the knife 13 times, according to police.

He paused after firing two shots and fired once more, hitting him in the chest, after Cerda continued to advance, authorities said.

Two killed in Southwest Philly shooting

Two people were killed and two others were hospitalized following a shooting early Sunday morning in Kingsessing, police said.

Officers were called just after 1:30 a.m. to the 1100 block of S. Ruby Street, where they found a 33-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds and a 25-year-old man who had been shot in the chest.

Both men died a short time later at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

A 30-year-old woman was also rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to her chest. She is in stable condition, police said.

Later, a 24-year-old man walked into Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill with graze wounds to his head, chest, stomach and right hand. Investigators believe he came from the scene of the Ruby Street shooting.

No arrests have been made, authorities said.

Two men were also injured in separate shootings Monday.

In Brewerytown, a 42-year-old man was shot once in the left hip at around 3:20 p.m. on the 2400 block of N. Dover Street, according to authorities. His injuries are not expected to be life-threatening.

Earlier, just before noon, a 30-year-old man was shot in the chest on the 4700 block of Oakmont Street in Holmesburg, police said. He showed up to Nazareth Hospital in a private vehicle and is in stable condition.

Gunmen sought in North Philly homicide

Investigators released video in an attempt to identify four people involved in an October shooting that claimed the life of a 29-year-old man in North Philadelphia.

The victim encountered two of the suspects after parking his black Jeep Grand Cherokee Tuesday, Oct. 27, on the 2500 block of N. 5th Street, authorities said. Police said the two men arrived on the block in a silver Ford Mustang LX with a temporary paper tag.

A silver 2019 or 2020 Toyota Prius with New York tags pulled up alongside the Jeep, and the driver jumped out of the vehicle. At that point, the first two suspects pulled out handguns and shot the victim multiple times as he ran away.

The Prius driver stole the Jeep, and the gunmen fled in the Mustang. Another person who never got out of Prius drove it away.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the vehicles is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334/3335; 215-686-8477; text 773847; or submit an anonymous tip at phillypolice.com/forms/submit-a-tip.

A $20,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a homicide case.