Please Pray

It’s way too close for comfort.

{from Philly.com, July 5}

When shots rang out on Ann Street near Amber, in Kensington, yesterday afternoon, some neighbors thought that they were hearing fireworks.

But when they heard a helicopter and saw police vans swarm the corner, they knew it was something worse.

The shooting left three people hospitalized - including a 2-year-old girl, who was hit in the right arm by a stray bullet while she splashed in a backyard pool.

Neighbors said that a white car stopped on Amber Street about 5:55 p.m., and three men got out and began shooting down the street toward the victims.

A 29-year-old man and a 51-year-old man were wounded, and were taken to Episcopal Hospital. They were transferred to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.

The younger man was wounded in the face, chest and back; the other was hit in the chest. Police said the older man was hit by a stray bullet and was upgraded to stable condition last night.

The toddler was listed in stable condition at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

Police found shell casings from three handguns on the scene and recovered a fully loaded shotgun that had been thrown into an alley.

Police arrested one man last night in connection with the shooting. His name was not disclosed. Police may be looking for up to two more suspects. Neighbors said that three Hispanic men fled the scene in a white car.

 

And it happened again just about an hour ago. No news report yet, but the cops are swarming and it’s all just 1 block away. Another shooting, same area-just a bit closer to us, we can see the police tape about 1 block away.  I can hear the helicopters hovering as I type this.  Helicopters mixed with the sound of Lili’s sweet voice as she talks herself to sleep. 

Please pray.

Update: here’s the latest on the shooting from tonight…

Another shooting victim in Kensington

One night after three people, including a 2-year-old girl, were shot near Amber and Stella streets in Kensington, bullets again tore through the neighborhood Wednesday when a man was shot in his leg.

The man, who police said is 41 years old, was shot on Frankford Avenue near Stella around 8:30 p.m. He was taken to Temple University Hospital and listed in stable condition.

Police were unsure whether the incident was connected to Tuesday's shooting about a block away, which left three people hospitalized, and parked cars and homes along Amber Street riddled with bullets.

The 2-year-old girl was wounded in her right arm by a stray bullet. She was treated at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and released, police said.

A 51-year-old man was also hospitalized after he was wounded in the chest by a stray bullet. Police said the man was treated and released from Temple University Hospital.

A 29-year-old man who was shot in the face, chest and back was still listed in critical condition at Temple University Hospital Wednesday night, police said.