PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf visited the West Philadelphia YMCA Thursday to speak on gun violence. Simultaneously, four people were shot just a couple of miles away.
Just before 11 a.m., two people jumped out of a gold-colored car at 38th and Aspen streets — not far from a school, a park and the Philadelphia Zoo — and began running and shooting.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Michael McCarrick said it seemed like a targeted attack.
Four people were shot in all, ranging in age from 20s to mid-30s. They were shot in the lower parts of their bodies and are expected to physically recover.
As the shooting took place, the governor was at 52nd and Chesnut streets with local state legislators, advocating for community groups to apply for anti-violence grants.
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“In the first eight months of 2021, almost as many people have been shot in Philadelphia as were shot in all of 2019,” said Wolf. “Our communities are all paying the price for that violence, including right here in this neighborhood.”
Wolf last visited the West Philly YMCA with the Philadelphia mayor, police commissioner and state attorney general in April.
“This $30 million came in part from that conversation,” he said. “I am working to try to broaden the conversation to a national level. I have not been entirely successful there yet.”
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will oversee how funds are used, and it will report which groups seem to have an impact. Applications are open until Oct. 15.
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“According to the CDC, Black Pennsylvanians are three times as likely as white Pennsylvanians as a result of a firearm-related incident,” added state Sen. Vincent Hughes.
“These are the organizations that are in our communities that are fighting the fight on a daily basis, historically under-sourced. And now, we are trying to get them additional resources so that they can improve on their successes and we can win this fight.”
Philadelphia homicides are inching toward 400 — the most ever recorded at this point in the year, and more than the year-end totals for the last 14 years.