Suspect in Olney mass shooting remains at large

Philadelphia Police Car – PHILADELPHIA – PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 6, 2017
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Detectives are still searching for the person or group of people behind a mass shooting last week at Broad Street and Olney Avenue that left eight people injured.

In the minutes after the shots were fired, officers arrested two convicted felons who were illegally carrying guns; however, investigators do not believe the pair sparked the shooting, Philadelphia Police Chief Frank Vanore said.

“We do have some direction,” he said Monday. “We do have a lot of evidence collected.”

Most, if not all, of the victims were bystanders and likely not intentionally targeted by the gunman, Vanore said. A majority were waiting for a bus at SEPTA’s bustling Olney Transportation Center.

All of the victims, who range in age from 17 to 71, are expected to survive, and seven have been treated and released from the hospital.

Surveillance footage, Vanore said, captures the moments before and after the shooting, but authorities have yet to recover clear-cut video of the incident itself, which occurred just before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Police asked witnesses or people who may have video from their security cameras to come forward.

In other crime news, five people were injured in shootings Sunday night and Monday, according to police.

A 33-year-old man was taken to Jefferson University Hospital after being shot once in the stomach inside a property on the 1700 block of S. 4th Street in South Philadelphia. His injuries are not expected to be life-threatening.

On Sunday, just before 10 p.m. a 35-year-old man was shot in the left hip inside the Dave & Buster’s parking garage on the 300 block of Christopher Columbus Boulevard.

Medics took the victim to Jefferson, where he was later listed in stable condition.

A couple was grazed by gunfire Sunday while with their children on the 4900 block of Whitaker Avenue, near Tacony Creek Park in the Lower Northeast.

The woman, 35, suffered a wound to her nose, and the other victim, a 25-year-old man, was grazed in the right arm, police said. Both were taken to Einstein Medical Center, along with two children, who were not injured, authorities said.

In West Philadelphia, a 17-year-old boy was shot once in the right foot on the 6400 block of W. Girard Avenue, according to police. He showed up at Lankenau Medical Center and is expected to recover.

Authorities said a 37-year-old was stabbed five times, including twice in the head and once in the neck, just before 2:45 a.m. Monday outside on the 3900 block of Old York Road in the Hunting Park neighborhood.

He was transported to Temple University Hospital, where he is in stable condition.

Police reported no arrests in connection with any of the incidents.