Witnesses and cops gave various accounts of what happened in the 30 minutes from when cops arrived at Henry’s house in Ogontz until her son was shot dead shortly before noon. Did 23-year-old Jason Henry lunge at police with a 14-inch butcher knife, giving an officer no choice but to shoot, as the police claim? Or was Henry simply trying to regain his composure after being stunned by a Taser gun, as witnesses claim? The only thing cops and witnesses agree on is that Henry began throwing sharp objects — including a knife and a drill — out of a […]

BY KYW’s HADA KUZNITS Homicide detectives are investigating the city’s 252nd murder so far this year. They say it happened around 6:00am Sunday morning near Broad and Fitzwater. Police were flagged down by a passing motorist who tipped them off that there had been a shooting. They found a man lying dead in the street at 731 South Broad Street. The victim had been shot twice — once in the back and once in the leg. He was taken to Jefferson hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6:30am. Homicide detectives say they have spoken to witnesses but so […]

* 2 a.m. Saturday – 15-year-old Raheem Grant was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head on Callowhill Street near 63rd, in the Overbrook section. * 4:46 a.m. Saturday – Jason Brewer, 25, was shot multiple times near 18th Street and Girard Avenue, in North Philadelphia. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 5 a.m. * 1:40 p.m. Saturday – An unidentified male victim was stabbed multiple times in the neck on 10th Street near Schiller in North Philadelphia. He was pronounced dead at 7:38 p.m. at Temple University Hospital. * 2:51 p.m. Saturday – A 25-year-old […]

Police had no initial suspects and no immediate motive in a Wednesday night shooting in North Philadelphia that left a 17-year-old dead, and a 49-year-old man wounded in stable condition. The incident happened around 9:45pm near 24th Street and Lehigh Avenue. The 17-year- old male was dead on arrival at Temple University Hospital. The 49-year-old man was admitted to the same hospital with a leg wound. [via KYW] RELATED: This just in from Jeff Deeney in the comments section. “We moved a client off this block (Judson Street) last year, she said they had to keep all their beds as […]

BY JAN HEFLER INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A killing spree this morning began with a triple homicide outside a Southwest Philadelphia bar and ended with two more shooting deaths in other parts of the city. The deaths bring the total homicides this year to 233 234, on pace to be the highest in a decade. Police said there are no suspects and no arrests in any of the three cases. Police said an argument inside Abay Wheeler’s Bar on South 62nd Street shortly after midnight led to four men being shot multiple times by a lone gunman. Three died and the […]

One male was killed and two other males were injured in a shooting in South Philadelphia this morning. Officers were called to the 2300 block of Wilder Street after reports of the shooting just after 12:30 a.m. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. One wounded victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; another was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. One of the wounded victims was a bystander who was cleaning his porch, police said. No arrests have been made. Police said the male suspect used a handgun in the shooting. PHILLY.COM: […]

Authorities have broken up an illegal gun trafficking network where guns were stolen from homes in the Philadelphia suburbs and sold on the streets of Philadelphia and Norristown. Seven people (one from Philadelphia, six from the suburbs) have been charged in connection with more than 40 burglaries in Montgomery, Chester, and Berks counties. Prosecutors say that over the span of about eight months the gang stole cash, jewelry, electronics — and more than 50 handguns and long guns which were then sold on the streets. Several of the guns were confiscated from a house on Franklin Street in Philadelphia, but […]

A 14-year-old boy was shot and killed Saturday in broad daylight in South Philadelphia. Police have charged 18-year-old Charles Meyers of South Philadelphia with his murder. Police say at about 4pm, 10 kids — including 14-year-old Tykeem Law — were on five bikes on the 900 block of Federal Street, near the Italian Market. A car coming down the street honked the horn and yelled at the kids to move out the street. Four of the five bikes got out of the way. One didn’t move fast enough ridden by 14-year-old Tykeem Law. Police say words may have been exchanged, […]

BY PETER MUCHA OF THE INQUIRER Two men and a 15-year-old boy are dead and two other men were in critical condition after three double shootings in Philadelphia, police said. The slayings, along with yesterday’s death of 19-year-old shot June 17, raise the murder total for the year to 217. Timothy Clark, 15, was pronounced dead at 2:25 a.m., just minutes after being found shot in the head in the 6900 block of Vandike Street in the Tacony section of the Northeast, according to Homicide Sgt. Charles Coan. Clark lived down the street, in the 6800 block. A second victim […]

Ever since President Bush took office, there has been $2 billion worth of federal funding cuts to state and local law enforcement agencies. Wait a minute. PC assumed that the Bush administration was big on national security and making Americans feel safe at home. So what’s up with Washington pulling money away from first-responders? Aren’t these the same first-responders hailed during the 2004 election season, when it seemed that every other Republican stump speech was tied to 9-11? Then we read this from the NYT: Many criminologists and law enforcement officials are debating whether the violent-crime data signal a significant […]

Seven police officers fired up to 85 rounds at a “deranged” man who was killed while pacing with a gun on a South Philadelphia street corner, authorities said yesterday. Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said police shot the man, who was speaking incoherently, after he did not respond to repeated orders to drop the weapon Sunday evening and pointed it at the officers. Steven Miller, 30, of the 1600 block of South Taney Street, had a fully loaded pistol but did not fire, officials said. Two officers required treatment for friendly-fire graze wounds from ricocheting bullet fragments or debris. Johnson, […]

A 12-year-old boy was shot to death last night in Camden while sitting in a car parked in the Branch Village Public Housing complex. The boy, who has not been identified, was shot multiple times shortly before midnight and died at the scene. It was unclear whether anyone else was in the car or whether the boy was the killer’s intended target. INQUIRER: How Many Bullets Does It Take To Snuff Out A 12-Year-Old? KILLADELPHIA: Holiday Mayhem Raises Murder Toll To 208