Residents gathered in South Philly Monday night to make a stand against the surging crime rate in Philly.
Police statistics show that as of Feb. 10 at 11:59 p.m, there have been 42 homicides in the city. This is a 24 percent increase since last year.
“I think South Philadelphia is forgotten right now, and we’re trying to get the neighbors together to stand up and unite,” resident Andrew Dankanich told ABC.
This rally comes within a day after a fight near a South Philly hot spot left two men stabbed.
Inquirer.com reports that in this specific incident, a 29-year-old woman was charged and arrested for her role in the brawl. A man she was with was stabbed, and two more were critically injured during the fight.
The 29-year-old has been identified as Carol Leidy of the 2500 block of South Percy Street, which is located in South Philly. She was charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault and more.
The event Monday night was organized by Anthony Giordano on Facebook, according to ABC.
“We’re here to stand up and unite South Philadelphia, and, hopefully, if this catches on, we unite the entire city,” Giordano told ABC.
Councilman David Oh pointed fingers, but Giordano did not.
Oh told ABC that he feels like District Attorney Larry Krasner’s policies are pretty easy on criminals who commit “quality of life crimes.”
“I’ve spoken to him about it, and I’m saying publicly we have crime epidemics because they’re not nipping these things in the bud, people aren’t feeling safe,” Oh told ABC.
Barry Collins of South Philadelphia told ABC, “I feel the police are almost handcuffed themselves to really do their job properly.”
However, the DA’s office disagreed and released a statement that says, “Violent crime incidents are down historically in this area since DA Krasner took office in 2018. In fact, we are charging at a higher rate for firearms offenses than our predecessors.”
