PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two women were shot and killed in the city’s Francisville neighborhood Thursday night at a location that police are calling a speakeasy.
The abandoned building at Ridge and Thompson streets, near Girard College, had previously been used as a church. More recently, Chief Inspector Scott Small said it was a speakeasy where people would gather.
Police say someone came by the building around 7:30 p.m. and fired at least seven gunshots into a partially opened front door.
Two women near the entrance were shot and killed, police say. One was shot in the armpit and the other in her right side.
Both women were pronounced dead at the scene. The victims were later identified as 56-year-old Constance Marshall and 31-year-old Irene McNair.
A man they were with at the time was not hit. He was taken in for questioning and has been cooperating, according to police. They say they do not know for sure if anyone else was in the space at the time of the shooting.
Inside the property, in the room where the two women were killed, police said they found several coolers containing cans of beer and liquor. And police say a generator on the outside of the building was hooked up to power whatever was going on inside.
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Investigators did not initially know who the shooter was, nor did they recover a weapon. Sources say they don’t believe the shooting was random, but they’re still investigating the circumstances.
Detectives are also scouring the area for video and speaking with witnesses.
Nearly 60 women have been killed in Philadelphia this year —- up more than 70% from this time last year.