PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s police commissioner is sounding the alarm on the number of homicides in just six weeks of 2021 — more than 60 people have been killed. The deadliest day was Monday, when the city had a startling seven homicides in one day.
The youngest victim Monday was 15-year-old Darius Winter killed in West Philadelphia. Homicide Capt. Jason Smith says this is believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
“An innocent victim that was targeted incorrectly,” Smith said.
Both he and Commissioner Danielle Outlaw say they are doing what they can to tackle the spike, noting that drugs seem to be a primary motive.
“Bolstered our narcotics bureau, we have more boots on the ground. We created a Kensington police district with 38 additional officers out there, with the entire command structure and a temporary police district,” Outlaw said.
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She said police officers are taking in more firearms.
“We don’t know if there are just more guns available or more people are carrying guns, but the number of guns we are getting off the street are increasing month over month over month,” she noted.
Outlaw said most victims and suspects are caught in the cycle of gun violence.
“There are a lot of commonalities there, there are a lot of themes and patterns along with those who have been arrested for illegally carrying firearms,” she said.
The city had 499 homicides last year.