INQUIRER: A series of shootings during a two-hour period this afternoon — at least four separate incidents in different neighborhoods in the city — left five people with sever wounds and two people dead. The first incident occurred about 4 p.m., when a 23-year-old man was found severely wounded in East Germantown. The fourth in the cluster happened shortly after 6 p.m., when a gunfight broke out among spectators attending a youth basketball game at a recreation center in North Philadelphia near Brewerytown. When that exchange was over, a 17-year-old boy was left dying of multiple shots to the torso; a wounded 18-year-old man and an automatic weapon were found inside a bathroom at the rec center; and police had arrested one of the alleged shooters. Police, who were near the Athletic Recreation Center at 26th and Jefferson Streets, heard the shots and nabbed a young man carrying a pistol as he attempted to flee the center. He had not been injured. The 18-year-old was in stable condition at Temple University Hospital tonight, police said. Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, who visited the crime scene tonight, again said the city had too many teenagers with guns. Of the slain youth, he said: “It’s No. 256 or 257 homicide. One is too many . . . There are young kids with weapons.”
UPDATE: Police say a home invasion in the Juniata section of Philadelphia in the 1600 block of Hunting Park Avenue Wednesday night resulted in two people being shot. The incident took place around 5:30pm. The 35-year-old male who owns the home was not immediately identified. He was shot and wounded. A woman, described as a housekeeper, was shot and killed. She is identified as 26-year-old Elizabeth Rosato. As of early Thursday, police had not reveal a motive although it’s believed to be robbery. Detectives called the home “a bloody mess”. The woman was found dead near the front door. The man was listed in critical condition at Temple University Hospital Thursday morning. [KYW]
