PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police are investigating weekend gun violence. Eleven people were injured, including five people Saturday in South Philadelphia and three people Sunday in Northern Liberties. Two victims are in critical condition.
Investigators say two men terrorized a couple of blocks in Point Breeze on Saturday, just before 8 p.m., when they opened fire on South Ringgold Street, near Morris Street, hitting four adults and a 4-year-old boy.
The boy, shot in the abdomen, was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for surgery and is now in stable condition, police say.
Two women, ages 54 and 58, and two men, ages 30 and 40, were also hurt in the hail of bullets. Police say the 40-year-old was hit in the abdomen and is in critical condition. The three remaining victims have non-fatal wounds to the extremities and are in stable condition, according to police.
Investigators found upwards of 50 shell casings, broadcast partner NBC10 reports. Police have one suspect in custody, while a second suspect is still at large.
Inspector D.F. Pace says the boy was outside playing with sidewalk chalk when he was shot.
"It's very disturbing to see sidewalk art and small footprints in chalk and have to rush a child of that age to the hospital," Pace said.
Monica Green, who lives in the neighborhood, said she witnessed the shooting.
"Just crazy. Wasn't a lot of people on a block at the time," Green said. "And then they picked the baby up. ... He had to be no more than 3, 4 years old. That's when I just started shaking. It's just crazy."
Seven more victims of gun violence
The weekend of violence began late Friday at 11 p.m., when a 48-year-old man was shot in the stomach, according to police. He is in stable condition. No one has been arrested.
About an hour and a half later, at a gas station on the 200 block of North 63rd Street in West Philadelphia, a 27-year-old man was shot in the face, according to police. He is in critical condition.
Police say they recovered a weapon, and one of two suspects is in custody. The missing suspect escaped in a dark-colored Nissan.
Across town in Nicetown-Tioga, around 5:45 p.m., a 35-year-old man with two gunshot wounds was found in the second-floor front bedroom of a home on the 3800 block of Smedley Street. He is in stable condition. No weapons were recovered, and no one has been arrested.
Later Saturday, around 10:15 p.m., a 27-year-old man was shot in Kensington on the 3100 block of Potter Street. He is in stable condition. No weapons were recovered. An unidentified male suspect, wearing all black, escaped. No one has been arrested.
Police are also investigating a triple shooting that happened around 1 a.m. Sunday on Franklin Place in East Poplar. A 31-year-old man, a 25-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman have non-fatal gunshot wounds and are in stable condition.
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, preliminary information from police did not include all five people who were shot in Point Breeze.
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