Woman killed in Northeast Philly bar shooting

Olney
MELISSA MITMAN

A 21-year-old woman was killed by an apparent stray bullet Tuesday night after a man fired more than a dozen shots from a parking lot into a Northeast Philadelphia bar.

The shooting occurred at around 11:45 p.m. at Philly Bar and Restaurant, which is located in a strip mall on the 2400 block of Welsh Road.

After causing a disturbance, the gunman was kicked out of the bar and left with two other men, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene. As he was nearing a dark-colored pickup truck, he fired 15 shots in the direction of the storefront, Small added.

One of the bullets struck Jailene Holton, who was at the bar with friends, in the head. She died at around 3:30 a.m. at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, according to authorities.

Holton had recently celebrated her 21st birthday and was a “bright and beautiful young woman with her whole life to look forward to,” according to a GoFundMe page set up to help her father cover funeral experiences.

The fundraising page raised more than $15,000 in about eight hours.

Earlier Tuesday night, just before 10:30 p.m., officers were called to the 6400 block of N. Broad Street in Oak Lane for a report of a person with a gun, police said.

They found 20-year-old Zamir Syrus, who had been shot multiple times just a block from where he lived. He was taken to Einstein Medical Center, where he died a short time later. No arrests have been made.

On Wednesday, at around 4 p.m., someone shot a 31-year-old man in the shoulder on the 1300 block of W. Seltzer Street in North Philadelphia, investigators said. He was listed in stable condition at Temple University Hospital.

A 54-year-old man was in critical condition after being stabbed in the chest and right leg at around 2 a.m. Wednesday near the corner of 18th Street and Snyder Avenue in South Philadelphia, according to police.

Officers recovered a weapon at the scene, but no one was immediately apprehended.

Police said a 41-year-old man was shot several times just before 9 p.m. Tuesday on the 1200 block of W. Erie Avenue in the Hunting Park neighborhood. He was hospitalized with serious injuries but is expected to survive.