In Philadelphia, homicides rose 7 percent to a nine-year high of 406 last year, giving it the highest murder rate per 100,000 people among America’s 10 biggest cities, according to a survey of police departments by the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, which keeps a running tally. Philadelphia, with a population of about 1.5 million, also has the highest poverty rate — 25 percent — among those cities. The deadly cocktail of poverty and violence mirrors that of some other major U.S. cities such as Houston and San Antonio, where poverty rates are similar and homicides registered double-digit increases last year. New […]
GUNCRAZY: Andy Reid’s Sons Disarmed?
Police in two suburban municipalities and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office are continuing investigations into separate traffic incidents involving two of Eagles coach Andy Reid’s sons. The first incident, on Tuesday morning, involved Britt Reid, a second man, and a gun. Law enforcement officials would not say who possessed the weapon. NBC10, quoting a law enforcement source, reported last night that investigators found a gun in Britt Reid’s car, and a platinum handgun during a search of the Reid home Tuesday night in Villanova. That gun was reportedly in a lockbox in the basement. When asked last night if […]
GUNCRAZY: Dad To Seven Year Old — ‘Go To Your Grandmother’s House, I Am Going To Kill Your Mom’
Ronald Hives, 7, saw his mother shot to death Saturday morning. He does not remember hearing the shots ring out in rapid succession outside the family’s Bartram Village apartment in Southwest Philadelphia. But he remembers the blood on her body and the blood splattered on the wall. He also remembers the last words the suspect — his father — called out to him as young Ronald and his mother, Ruth Angel Hayes, tried to flee the third-floor dwelling in the 2700 block of 56th Street. “Go to your grandma’s house. I am going to kill your mom.” INQUIRER: Jesus […]
GUNCRAZY: We’re Number One! We’re Number One!
The Washington-based Violence Policy Center reported yesterday that Pennsylvania leads the nation in the per capita rate of black homicide victims – ahead of the next closest states, Louisiana, Indiana, California and Missouri. The figures are based on an analysis of 2004 FBI crime statistics, the first study to rank states based on their black homicide rates, said the center’s statement. The center’s executive director noted that the survey looked at statewide data, and he was reluctant to speculate on Philadelphia’s role. In 2004, the city registered 330 murders – the number rose sharply to 406 last year – and […]
GUNCRAZY: Son Who Shot Stepdad, Repeatedly, Over Denial Of Laundry Privileges, Still At Large
A West Philadelphia teenager allegedly pumped several bullets into his stepdad yesterday morning, and investigators said the shooting was preceded by an argument over laundry. Arlen Briddell, 18, stopped by his mother’s home, on Broomall Street near 55th, hoping to do some laundry about 9 a.m., police said. Briddell’s stepfather, local hospital worker William Green, had asked Briddell to move out around Christmas and stuck to his word, declining the laundry request, police said. But Briddell screamed, “If you don’t get out of my way, you won’t make it to work tonight!” and then chased his stepdad into a bedroom, […]
GUNCRAZY: COP MOM SHOOTS SON, DEAD
(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA An apparent argument between a Philadelphia Police officer and her son ended with his death Tuedsay night. Authorities said the 16-year-old was fatally shot inside the family’s home near 57th and Girard Streets around 9:30 p.m. Police said the teen was shot while struggling with his mother for her gun. He was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead. Internal affairs is investigating the deadly incident. KYW: That Is Fucked UP
GUNCRAZY: Is That A Gun Under Your Crested Blazer Or Are Just REALLY Pissed To See Me?
(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA Police are searching for several young suspects after a shooting outside a school in West Philadelphia. Authorities said a 17-year-old male was shot at least three times in the leg outside Sayre Middle High School near 59th and Spruce. The victim was taken to the Children?s Hospital of Pennsylvania. His condition is unknown. Three young males, possibly wearing school uniforms, were seen running from the scene following the shooting. Police recovered a gun one block away at 59th and Walnut. No arrests have been made. KYW: We’ll Settle This Like Men, After Gym Class
GUNCRAZY: Cops Bag Third Trophy Kill Of The Year
By Joseph A. Gambardello INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A robbery suspect was fatally wounded after a running gun battle with police this morning in Port Richmond. Police were investigating the possibility that the man shot himself in the head about the same time as a police officer fired one round into the man’s shoulder area. During the gunbattle, the man fired about 10 shots at police, including three bullets into the side of a patrol car. […] “He was determined not to get caught,” said Capt. Ben Naish, a police department spokesman. Police said they recovered a bag with money next […]
GUNCRAZY: Suicide By Cop Done ‘By The Book,’ Say Experts
Police say officers twice tried to tame the man in Center City with shots from a Taser electronic stun gun before he lunged at them with the knife, yelling, “Kill me! Kill me!” The five officers shot him down in a fusillade. He was the second man killed by police gunfire this year. Police yesterday disclosed few new details about the 2 a.m. confrontation, which was captured by surveillance cameras outside the Robert N.C. Nix Federal Building on Market Street near Ninth. The assailant, said to be in his 30s, has not been identified. Experts say police, in their account […]
GUNCRAZY: Suicide By Cop Outside The Gallery
(AP) PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia police say officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man who yelled “Kill me” and lunged at them early Sunday morning. The killing is the second this year by city police. Police say it happened about 2 a.m. as the officers were responding to a report of a broken window at a federal building across the street from The Gallery, the downtown mall. Police Captain Benjamin Naish says the officers tried several times to use a stun gun, but couldn’t disarm the man. Naish won’t say how many officers fired or how many shots were fired at the […]
GUNCRAZY: Two Damn Fools Shoot Each Other Over How Tall James Brown Was, Not Was
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) – A man shot a friend when the two got into an argument over James Brown’s height, police said. Dan Gulley Jr. was charged with assault in the shooting of David James Brooks Jr., police said. Officers said the men were at a friend’s home on Monday when, according to witnesses, the argument over the height of the late “Godfather of Soul” escalated, with Gulley, 70, shooting Brooks, 62, twice in the abdomen. Brooks went to his car, got a gun and shot at Gulley but missed, then went to the police station, officers said. Gulley also […]
GUNCRAZY: Vowing To End Blizzard Of Hot Lead, Dueling Mayoral Candidates Show Off Battle Scars From Back When They Were KEEPIN’ IT REAL, Yo
Mayoral candidates U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and state Rep. Dwight Evans [NOT pictured, right] yesterday both claimed to have been struck by gunfire during their teen years. Fattah said he was struck in the legs by a shotgun blast in the mid-1970s while breaking up a gunfight and was treated at Mercy Hospital in West Philadelphia. Evans said he was working in food services at Rolling Hill Hospital in Elkins Park in 1969 when a co-worker accidentally dropped a gun. It hit the floor, went off and sent a bullet ricocheting off his ear, Evans said. Both mentioned their battle […]
GUNCRAZY: Death Knocks On Door Of Oxford Circle Man, Described As Tall, Dark And Evil
(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA Police are searching for any clues after a 25-year-old man was shot to death while answering the door to his Oxford Circle home Sunday. Officials said Jamie “Jimmy” Fuentes was fatally shot while opening the front door of his home on the 1200 block of Alcott Street just before 10:30 a.m. The suspect fired four shots at the entrance to the home while Fuentes? young stepson was inside, police said. Fuentes was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. […] Investigators are hoping fingerprints from Fuentes’ front door will lead to a suspect. […]