While many Philadelphians were enjoying turkey with their families, police were dealing with a rash of violence that left three people dead and four other people injured this holiday weekend.
It started on Thanksgiving morning, when a man was shot to death at a hotel in the Mill Creek section of West Philadelphia. Police said the victim, identified as 33-year-old Samuel Vanderhall of 55th Street near Thompson Street in Carroll Park was shot in the groin and back in the rear parking lot of the Blue Moon Hotel on the 5100 block of Westminster Avenue. He died shortly before 11:15 a.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Investigators believe the attack may have stemmed from a drug-related dispute, according to some reports.
A 25-year-old woman was shot and killed in Nicetown less than 24 hours later. Officers found the victim, whose identity has not yet been released, with a gunshot wound to the head around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning on the 2000 block of Dennie Street, according to police. She was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where she died of her injuries around 11:30 p.m. Friday night.
Investigators believe the woman was shot about a block away, at Clarissa and Dennie streets, but was able to walk to Dennie Street near Wayne Avenue before collapsing. Police said she was not the intended target, but was caught in the crossfire of a gun battle between about four men. No word on a possible motive for that shootout.
A man was shot to death Friday evening outside the SEPTA Broad Street Line subway’s North Philadelphia stop at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue. Officers responded to the intersection for reports of gunfire shortly after 4 p.m., but found no victim. They received information that a Ford Crown Victoria fled the area after the shooting.
A car fitting that description arrived at Temple University Hospital a short time later carrying a 28-year-old man who had been shot several times in the chest and stomach. He died shortly after 5 p.m., and his identity has not yet been released. The suspect is described only as an unknown black male and the motive has not been disclosed.
A man is hospitalized after he was shot in the face during an attempted robbery in the Cedar Park section of Southwest Philadelphia Friday night. Police said that a gunman approached the 21-year-old victim shortly after 9:30 p.m. at 51st Street and Willows Avenue and attempted to rob him, firing once during the botched crime.
The victim was able to run to a nearby fire station, where he received treatment from a medic before he was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Police said that, though the man is sedated, his injury is not life-threatening.
The suspect is described as a thin, light-skinned black male between the ages of 20 and 25 with light facial hear. He was wearing a black hat, a red and black jacket and dark pants and was last seen on 51st Street fleeing on foot toward Pentridge Street.
A 72-year-old man was injured in a violent home invasion in Cedarbrook on Friday night. Police said three men with bandanas tied around their faces broke into the victim’s home on the 2400 block of 76th Avenue around 11 p.m. They found the victim in his bedroom, ordered him to lay face down on the floor, gagged him and tied his hands and feet.
The men then went through the victim’s pockets, taking his wallet, cash and car keys, according to investigators. Police said that after the suspects demanded painkillers and the victim replied that he had none, the three men fled in the victim’s car, a gray 2005 Toyota Corolla.
An 18-year-old man is in critical condition after he was shot in North Philadelphia shortly after midnight Saturday morning. Police said the victim was shot twice in the chest near 9th Street and Indiana Avenue and taken by friends to Temple University Hospital. Investigators have not disclosed a motive.
A 17-year-old boy is hospitalized in critical condition and is facing assault charges after he was shot during a melee in Northeast Philadelphia early Saturday morning. Police said the victim was in a group of about ten young men who showed up at a home on the 4300 block of Greenmount Road shortly after midnight, kicked the door down and began assaulting its occupants, two men aged 26 and 42.
As the fight raged on, police said an unknown person threw a 40-ounce beer bottle, hitting in the stomach a 49-year-old woman who was also in the house. The 17-year-old victim then walked toward the woman with a knife, according to investigators. The woman allegedly shot the teen once in the stomach after he continued to advance.
The group of teens fled in an unknown direction in a gold-colored vehicle, police said. The 17-year-old was taken to Aria Health-Torresdale, where he was admitted treatment. The 26-year-old man who was assaulted suffered bite marks to his back and cuts to his face and body, while the 42-year-old reported no injuries.
The 17-year-old, whose identity is not being released because he is a minor, will be charged with aggravated assault, police said. The woman who allegedly shot him was reportedly a legally-permitted gun owner. It is unclear whether she will face charges.
No arrests have yet been made in any of this weekend’s attacks. Anyone with information concerning any of the incidents is asked to call 911 or to submit an anonymous tip by dialing 215-686-TIPS (8477), texting PPD TIP (773847), or by filling out this online form.
