PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities are searching for a man they say shot and killed two others in the city’s Tacony neighborhood, then fled on a nearby SEPTA bus. Police are hoping to identify the shooter with the help of newly released surveillance footage.
The two victims are seen walking down Passmore Street, near Frankford Avenue and Charles Street, when a man dressed in a black jacket and red hoodie runs across the street. Then, gunfire erupts.
It happened on Dec. 3 just before 5 a.m. Two men — 38-year-old Christopher Mearns and 43-year-old Nicholas Ferrante — were found shot several times throughout their bodies.
The compilation video from police cuts out during the actual shooting because it was captured on movement-based surveillance and it recorded a 28-second lapse in activity.
More video shows the suspect running down the street and trying to break into a car. He tries to shoot the car window out, but the gun jams. He then turns down another block at a quick pace. He’s next picked up on camera, police say, when he jumps onto a SEPTA bus along Frankford Avenue, near Greeby Street.
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Video from the bus picks up images of his face. He’s wearing glasses and a red baseball hat. The man rides a few blocks and jumps off at Battersby Street.
Police believe he is about 6 feet tall.
As with every homicide, there is a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.