PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Last weekend was particularly violent in Philadelphia. At least 40 people, including a baby boy, were shot, and three people were killed, having a grave effect on communities throughout the city.
According to initial reports from the Philadelphia Police Department, at least eight of those shootings had more than one victim.
"The brazenness with which these assaults are carried out is appalling," Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in an official police department statement released on Friday after the number of homicides in Philadelphia ticked past 300 people. "The lack of regard for human life is affecting innocent bystanders and our children are being caught in the crossfire."
A weekend of gun violence
Later, on Friday night, five people were shot in one location in Southwest Philadelphia, about a block from Bartram's Garden. A man in his twenties or thirties was killed. A 29-year-old man, shot twice in the chest and twice in the abdomen, is in critical but stable condition at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Police said a 14-year-old girl was grazed in the abdomen, and two other men were also shot. All three are in stable conditon at Penn Presbyterian.
Three other people were shot Friday night in Kensington, cops say, including a 40-year-old woman, hit in the chest and leg. She is in critical condition at Temple University Hospital. A 54-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man, both hit in the legs, are hospitalized in stable condition.
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The next day, at 50th Street and Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia, police say there was a double shooting at a corner store. One of the victims was a 1-year-old boy who was shot in the leg while he was in his mother’s arms.
The boy was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, while a 26-year-old man, shot in the arm, was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Both are listed in stable condition.
Earlier that morning, police say they found a 27-year-old man inside an apartment complex parking garage in East Falls, dead from several gunshot wounds. And near Paddy Whacks Irish Pub in Queen Village another man died after an argument between two men led to gunfire.
On Saturday afternoon, there was a triple shooting around 3 p.m. on Malcolm Street near 55th Street in West Philadelphia, police said. A 15-year-old boy was hit in both legs, a 29-year-old man was shot in the right leg, and a 19-year-old man had a graze wound to his knee.
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On Sunday alone, at least 11 people were wounded in seven different shootings. The first took place about 5:30 a.m. in Kingsessing. Police say a 26-year-old man, shot in both legs, is in stable condition at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.
Four hours later, a 32-year-old man was shot in the foot on the 400 block of Roosevelt Boulevard. He is also stable.
In the afternoon, there were three shootings with multiple victims. A 15-year-old boy was one of three people shot in the legs in West Philadelphia. A 16-year-old was one of two people shot in Mt. Airy. Two men were shot in Germantown.
There was another shooting on Roosevelt Boulevard at about 5:30 p.m. A 33-year-old man was wounded in the lower back, while in his car.
And that night, when cops were called to 53rd and Market streets in West Philadelphia, they found three wounded teens, ages 16, 17 and 18. All are stable.
Police say no weapons have been recovered and no arrests have yet been made in any of these incidents.
'The experience of trauma'
"One of the things that people can count on, other than the sun coming up, is somebody’s gonna get shot or unfortunately someone’s gonna get killed here in West Philadelphia. It is really a tragedy," said Jabari Jones, president of the West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative, on Monday.
He says innocent people are traumatized by the high level of gun violence.
"And we’re starting to see it affect everyday life with everyday residents," Jones said.
"There are residents that are afraid to leave their houses and sit on their porches or have their kids play outside. You have people that don't want to go to work in their own communities because they know the violence -- there are people that would much rather commute to King of Prussia or another suburban small town rather than work in their own communities."
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He says the ripple effects of incessant violence means dollars and opportunities are taken away from the city. For example, he said, a lot of businesses in West Philly are closing earlier these days out of fear. And one business owner told him she wants to move her salon to Delaware County because she doesn’t feel safe.
Jones says many people in affected communities feel like the city has failed them. He says he wants to see more accountability in the criminal justice system.
"Children are being raised as if this is the norm. That is heartbreaking," said Natasha Danielá de Lima McGlynn, executive director of the Anti-Violence Partnership. "How will this impact them years from now?"
AVP is a non-profit for victims' services. McGlynn said their wait-list for counseling has grown by 600% over the last year.
"When we are looking at these very sterile statistics, we are not really understanding the humanity that these numbers are touching upon, and that’s the experience of trauma."