Philly's Homicide Count Hit 353 last year... - Philadelphia Has Gone To Hell In A Handbasket

The Bobster

Senior News Editor since 2004
http://www.nbc10.com/news/10504657/detail.html

City's Homicide Count Hits 384, Highest In 10 Years

POSTED: 3:32 pm EST December 10, 2006
UPDATED: 10:05 am EST December 11, 2006


PHILADELPHIA -- Four people struck by gunfire died Sunday, all of them falling on the nigger-infested streets of Kensington or West Kensington.

They bring the Philadelphia's homicide count for 2006 up to 384 -- the city's highest total in 10 years.

The latest shooting happened inside a home in the 3400 block of E Street, near Ontario Street, shortly after 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Philadelphia Police said two 18-year-old men were shot in the head. One died at the scene, and the other after being rushed to a local hospital. The suspect fled the scene in a silver SUV.

"We're talking with several people who may have witnessed this incident, but we don't have any firm idea of who did this and how they made their escape," said Inspector Carl Holmes.

Another homicide was reported in Kensington on the 2600 block of North Third Street at about 4:15 a.m. Sunday.

Police said a nightclub dispute spilled into the streets and resulted in two men gunning at each other. One died, while the other is recovering from a gunshot to the earlobe.

"There was one guy on the floor with a puddle of blood," said Zenida Perez, who said she heard two gunshots, then several rapid shots in succession.

Of the rising homicide count and one of the latest occurring so close to her home, Perez said, "It's scary because I've been on this block for 20 years and I've never seen something like this."

Just after midnight, 30-year-old Sean Frazier died as a result of one bullet to the chest on the 2100 block of Elkhart Street in West Kensington. Police said the shooting appeared to be drug related.

"I was upstairs in a room, and I heard a gunshot," said neighbor David Preno, adding that his son heard the shots and was scared, too.

Other shootings this weekend in the city that were not fatal included a cabbie shot in the back during an attempted robbery. A suspect was apprehended after he got locked in the cab. :tongue:

And a man was in critical condition after being found in a car sprayed with bullets that ended up at Broad and Girard.

With three weeks left in the year, the homicide tally could top 400 for the first time since 1997. There were 418 killings that year, the last of eight years in the 1990s when there were 400 or more.

The total, however, remains far from the record of 500 set in 1990 during the city's crack epidemic, according to the police department's public affairs division. The department previously had reported that year's total as 525.

While the high murder rate in the 1990s was widely attributed to the crack epidemic, police, city officials and victims advocates say this year's shootings don't follow a simple pattern -- except that people are settling many disputes with guns.

"People are getting killed over nonsense, just for no reason," said Lisa Seals, 38, whose sister was fatally shot in August in West Philadelphia, allegedly by a neighbor who had a romantic interest in her. "It's not even about the drugs no more. These young kids are just losing their mind." (Why doesn't the term TNB come to mind?)

Many of the homicides have revolved around simple disputes, such as thefts and arguments.

Police and community activists have been frustrated that the killings have continued despite efforts to stop them.

Over the summer, city officials announced plans to hire 200 new police officers. The department also created a roving 46-member unit to be deployed on nights and weekends in high-crime areas. In addition, Street announced plans to install surveillance cameras in some neighborhoods, a move supported overwhelmingly by voters in the May primary.

The mayor has also come out in support of measures such as limiting gun purchases to one a month and allowing municipalities to enact their own gun control laws.

In the fall, the state Legislature spent three days discussing those proposals and others, but did not pass any bills. State Rep. Dwight Evans, who sponsored legislation that would have allowed municipalities to regulate handguns, said he thinks the session at least got people's attention.

Victims' groups said they are dismayed by the increased violence, but that they are not discouraged from their fight to solve the problem.

"It didn't get this way overnight and it's not going to be resolved overnight," said Dorothy Johnson-Speight, founder of the advocacy group Mothers In Charge. "While the numbers continue to climb, maybe if we weren't doing what we were doing the numbers would be even more."

Although it became certain early Sunday that the city had exceeded last year's homicide level of 380, the mark might have been reached sooner. Bodies are not always discovered right away and when they are, the deaths are often not ruled homicides until autopsies are conducted.

For example, a beheaded corpse was found Friday stuffed inside a trash bag, but investigators said the severe level of decomposition will make it difficult to determine how the person died.
 
4 Murders Before Christmas Push Philly's 2006 Toll To 400

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10601851/detail.html

4 Murders Before Christmas Push Philly's 2006 Toll To 400

POSTED: 8:37 am EST December 24, 2006
UPDATED: 2:32 pm EST December 24, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- Four murders on the day before Christmas pushed the city's 2006 homicide total to 400 for the first time in nearly a decade.

The last time the city reached the 400 mark was 1997, when the year ended with 418 murders. That marked the last of eight years in the 1990s in which there were at least 400 killings, including a record 500 in 1990, according to police statistics.

The spate of overnight violence started when a pizza delivery man was shot while trying to make a delivery in the city's Frankford section at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday. He was pronounced dead shortly after midnight, according to Officer Yolanda Dawkins, a police spokeswoman.

About 2-1/2 hours later, a man was found shot to death on a North Philadelphia street and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Shortly before 3 a.m., another man was found shot dead in West Philadelphia, Dawkins said. About 10 minutes later and just over 10 blocks away, the fourth victim was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.

The victims' names were not released and police did not immediately announce any arrests of the nigger perps.

Police and city officials have struggled all year to find ways to reduce the violence.

While the high murder rates in the 1990s were widely attributed to the city's crack epidemic, police and city officials say this year's shootings don't follow a simple pattern. Many, however, have revolved around simple disputes, such as thefts and arguments.

Over the summer, officials announced plans to hire 200 new police officers to help combat the violence. The department also created a roving 46-member unit to be deployed on nights and weekends in high-crime areas. In addition, Mayor John F. Street announced plans to install surveillance cameras in some neighborhoods, a move supported overwhelmingly by voters in the May primary.

The mayor has also come out in support of measures such as limiting gun purchases to one a month and allowing municipalities to enact their own gun control laws. State lawmakers spent three days discussing such proposals last fall, but did not pass any bills.

In July, Street gave a televised address in which he begged for a halt to the killings and asked young people to "lay down your weapons. Do it now. Choose education over violence."
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

Well Bobster, it sure sounds like typical Nigger News in Philly.
Funny that the blame is on "home grown" TNB these days rather than the infamous inner city Nigger "Crack Wars" of yester-year as if there is really any diff.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/16325578.htm

401, 402, 403... and climbing: Death takes no holiday in Philly
By CHRISTINE OLLEY & DAVID GAMBACORTA
olleyc@phillynews.com 215-854-5184

JOSEPH KACZMAREK/Daily News

Death is not taking a holiday this Christmas season: The fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man yesterday pushed the city's homicide toll to 403.

The unidentified man was shot once in the head shortly after 1 p.m. on Delancey Street near 52nd in West Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, cops are still trying to solve the puzzle of who killed Reginald Branham, a computer-whiz-turned-bar-owner who became the city's 402nd homicide victim on Christmas night.

Branham was discovered shot several times inside his establishment, the Cognac Corner, after he'd opened up his bar at 21st and Dickinson streets shortly after 10 p.m. Monday. He was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania but pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

Branham's family declined to speculate on a possible motive behind the entrepreneur's murder, focusing instead on his trademark passion and creativity.

"He was a visionary of sorts," said the victim's brother, Kevin Branham. "He enjoyed seeing his ideas materialize. He had setbacks, but he stayed true to his vision."

While at Overbrook High School, Branham participated in the NAACP's academic and technological Olympics, ACT-SO. At an age when most of his peers were obsessing over the prom, Branham built two computers and programmed the machines to talk to each other. (Another freakin' nigger genius!)

Branham was awarded a four-year scholarship to Drexel University, and went on to become a computer security expert as president of Cyberlock Data Intelligence Inc. Five years ago, Bran-ham migrated to Xlibris, where he became vice president for information technology. The firm helps authors publish and market books.

But a short time later, his family said, Branham moved on to buying and renovating clubs and bars.

His plans to turn his Point Breeze establishment into a top-notch sports club were marred - plasma-screen TVs were stolen almost immediately after they were installed :rotfl: - but Kevin Bran-ham said his younger brother was dedicated to creating an establishment that local residents would feel proud to patronize. (From budding genius to bartender?)

Over the years, Kevin said, his brother renovated more than a half-dozen bars and clubs.

"Each venture brought new challenges (niggers)," he said, "but one constant throughout our lives is that he was always 100-percent committed to his ideas."

In yesterday's West Philly slaying - the city's 403rd - officers on patrol heard gunshots and then found a man bleeding on the ground - while a white vehicle was fleeing the scene. The cops gave chase and caught the occupants a short distance away.

"We heard three shots and then saw the chase begin," said Yussuf Diakite, who runs a computer shop nearby.

Cops said the vehicle was stopped on Melville Street near Spruce, and an unidentified woman and her boyfriend were taken into custody. A weapon was recovered.

Police have yet to make an arrest in the year's 401st homicide, which happened early Sunday morning. McKennon Pigford, 24, was shot once in the head at 2 a.m. on Woodland Avenue near Paxon in Southwest Philadelphia.

Anyone with any information about these incidents is asked to call 215-686-3334 or 215-ARREST-A-NIGGER
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061227/D8M9EJ580.html

Murders Are Up in New York, Other Cities

Dec 27, 4:45 PM (ET)

By KAREN MATTHEWS


NEW YORK (AP) - After many years of decline, the number of murders climbed this year in New York and many other major U.S. cities, reaching their highest levels in a decade in some places. Among the reasons given: gangs, the easy availability of illegal guns, a disturbing tendency among young people to pull guns when they do not get the respect they demand, and, in Houston at least, an influx of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

In New York, where the city reported 579 homicides through Dec. 24 - a nearly 10 percent increase from the year before - the spike is mostly the result of an unusually large number of "reclassified homicides," or those involving victims who were shot or stabbed years ago but did not die until this year. Thirty-five such deaths have been added to this year's toll, compared with an annual average of about a dozen.

At the same time, Police Department spokesman Paul Browne noted that this year's total is only slightly :confused: higher than last year's 539 homicides - the city's lowest death toll in more than 40 years.

Browne blamed the rise in part on the availability of guns, particularly weapons from out of state. The city this year sued dozens of out-of-state gun shops that it says are responsible for many of the illegal weapons on the streets of New York.

In Chicago, homicides through the first 11 months of the year were up 3.3 percent compared with the same period in 2005, reversing a four-year decline. A police spokeswoman said gang violence has been a contributing factor.

In New Haven, Conn., there were 23 homicides as of Tuesday, compared with 15 in 2004 and in 2005. Police Chief Francisco Ortiz said that about half of this year's killings involve young people settling disputes with guns instead of fists.

"They're all struggling with this thing about respect and pride," Ortiz said. "It's about respect. It's about revenge. It's about having a reputation. It's about turf and it's about girls."

Houston police attribute the 15 percent increase in the homicide count to the influx of Katrina evacuees from the Gulf Coast.

"So we expect that to settle," Lt. Murray Smith said. "We're hoping it will go down."

New Orleans, with its post-Katrina exodus, is the only major U.S. city that saw a sharp decline in the number of homicides.:lol: There were 154 in New Orleans this year as of Monday, said police spokesman Sgt. Jeffrey Johnson, down from 210 in 2005. But the city was largely empty during the fall and winter of 2005-06, and even now has only about half of its pre-Katrina population of 455,000.

Some cities, like Cincinnati - which has had 83 homicides so far, up from 79 in 2005 - posted their highest numbers ever. Others saw their highest death tolls in years.

Oakland, Calif., had 148 homicides as of Wednesday, up 57 percent from last year and the highest in more than a decade. Philadelphia's 2006 homicide total was 403 as of Wednesday, the first time the number has topped 400 in nearly a decade. There were 380 killings in all of 2005.

Philadelphia officials have struggled all year to reduce the violence. In July, Mayor John F. Street gave a televised address in which pleaded with young people: "Lay down your weapons. Do it now. Choose education over violence."

A few cities reported slight decreases in murders. Los Angeles' total was down about 4 percent to 464 homicides through Dec. 23. San Francisco's fell about 15 percent. San Francisco Police Sgt. Steve Mannina said the drop is partly due to increased patrols in violence-prone areas and more overtime approved by the police chief.

The FBI does not release its national crime statistics until several months after the end of the year. The bureau's statistics for the first six months of 2006 showed an increase of 1.4 percent in the number of murders in the first half of 2006 compared with the first six months of 2005.

Andrew Karmen, a criminologist at John Jay College in New York, said that while there are various theories for the drop in murders in New York and other cities in the 1990s, no one knows for sure why it happened. And if they are going up again, no one knows the reason for that, either, he said. (You think maybe it was due to all the niggers that were being locked up?)

He noted that police departments tend to take credit when the murder rate goes down. "When crime goes up it will be interesting to see whether they will accept responsibility," Karmen said.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10665536/detail.html

Homicide Detectives Busy After Bloody Night
(And the beat goes on...)

POSTED: 10:32 pm EST January 3, 2007
UPDATED: 8:53 am EST January 4, 2007


PHILADELPHIA -- Four more people were slain in Philadelphia since Wednesday night, according to homicide detectives.

Just before 1 a.m. early Thursday morning, a 25-year-old man was shot multiple times on the 6500 block of Regent Street. He was pronounced dead a short time later at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Around the same time, an 18-year-old man was fatally shot in the chest on the 3000 block of North 13th Street.

Before those two deaths, a man in his 20s was shot dead inside a bathroom in a home in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. The shooting occurred before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Just after 8 p.m. Wedneseday, a 22-year-old man was shot in the chest on the 6000 block of Theodore Street and transported to the University of the Hospital of Pennsylvania with unstable vital signs. He was pronounced dead less than a half hour later.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

Philly Mayor, DA Feud Over Crime Fight
johnstreet.jpg

Mayor John Street escalated an exchange of insults with the district attorney, blaming her criticism of his anti-crime leadership on a "little temper tantrum" over budget cuts.
Lynne M. Abraham attacked Street in the last week, pleading that he "do something!" to deal with violence that resulted in 406 homicides in the city last year, the most since 1997.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10673836/detail.html

Moolie Mural Remembers Philly Murder Victims

POSTED: 7:38 pm EST January 4, 2007
UPDATED: 7:50 pm EST January 4, 2007


PHILADELPHIA -- Stroke by stroke, William Freeman has painted a horrifying picture of violence in Philadelphia.

During the past week, he and a few others have created the mural on a wall at the Time Out Carwash at 19th Street and Hunting Park Avenue in Nicetown.

Each of the 406 names represents someone who was murdered during 2006.


“It (doesn't) make sense this happen like this. We're the city of bruthaly love and this is going on. We need to take a look at it,”�”� said Freeman.

The idea for the mural came from Michael TaBon, who recently got out of prison.:lol:

“I did almost seven and a half years in prison, and I participated in gun violence,”�”� said TaBone. “So now it's time to go back and undo some of the things I’ve done.

The organizers said the memorial is just the beginning. Next they plan to start a nonprofit organization that will help kids deal with conflict resolution. :rotfl:
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

The yard apes are at it again!

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10685259/detail.html

Man Fatally Shot Inside Germantown Home

POSTED: 2:35 pm EST January 6, 2007
UPDATED: 2:43 pm EST January 6, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia's grim pace of more than one murder per day was being maintained into the first weekend of 2007.

Friday night, a 35-year-old man was shot in the head inside a home on the 5600 block of McMahon Street in Germantown.

He died at the hospital, making it the seventh murder of the year.

Two men were also in critical condition after a double-shooting late Friday in North Philadelphia.

It happened just before 11 p.m. near the intersection of Sixth and Berks streets, police said.

One of the victims was wounded in the buttocks and abdomen. The other was shot in the chest and abdomen, just one block away. Police have not released details about suspects or motives.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

The weekend's still young. Nothing like warm weather to increase the TNB.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10683133/detail.html

15-Year-Old Stabbed To Death On Street In Germantown

POSTED: 10:10 pm EST January 5, 2007
UPDATED: 11:11 pm EST January 5, 2007

PHILADELPHIA -- Violence on a street in Germantown claimed the life of a 15-year-old Friday night, police said.

The victim was stabbed at about 7 p.m. at Baynton Street and Walnut Lane. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Police were still interviewing witnesses and did not immediately release the boy's name.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4912520

3 Shot at Philly Rec Center

WEST OAK LANE - January 7, 2007 - Philadelphia police are looking for a gunman who opened fire at a West Oak Lane recreation center during the weekend.

Three people were wounded at the Simons Rec Center at Walnut Lane and Woolston Avenue Satuday afternoon.

A 19-year-old was shot in the back. A 20-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and a third was shot in the hand.

All are listed in stable condition at Einstein Medical Center.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

There's still some time left in the weekend.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4913141

2 Men Injured in Juniata Shooting

January 7, 2007 - There was gunfire Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia's Juniata section, injuring two men.

It happened around 2pm in the 13-hundred block of East Luzerne.

A 17-year-old was shot 3 times and a 24-year-old was hit once. Both men were rushed to nearby hospitals where they're expected to recover.

The shooter, or shooters, have not been arrested.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

And yet some more weekend negritrude:

http://www.nbc10.com/news/10693855/detail.html

2 Philadelphia Shootings Spark 2 More Deaths

POSTED: 6:19 am EST January 8, 2007
UPDATED: 9:57 am EST January 8, 2007

Police said two people were shot and killed in Philadelphia overnight.

A man in his mid-20s was shot multiple times around 2:30 a.m. on the 5900 block of Warrington Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, according to homicide investigators. They did not release the victim’s name, but said he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just a little more than an hour earlier, an unidentified man died from wounds he suffered in a late Sunday night shooting that took place in North Philadelphia underneath a railroad overpass, police said.

The victim, a man in his 40s, was shot at 25th and Dauphin streets around 11:30 p.m. Sunday and was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital about an hour before the Southwest Philadelphia fatal shooting.

Police said they have not made arrests in either homicide case. The two overnight shootings push the number of homicides in Philadelphia to 11 in 2007, according to NBC 10 records.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4935411

Philly Records Violent Start to 2007

January 14, 2007 - Only 14 days into 2007 and already Philadelphia has recorded 24 murders - four of them happened this weekend.

The violence started Saturday morning on the 24-hundred block of North Patton Street in Strawberry Mansion. A man was found stabbed to death inside a burning home.

A 26-year-old man was shot and killed during a home invasion in the 25-hundred block of South 68th Street.

A shooting claimed the life of a 26-year-old woman in the 45-hundred block of North 5th Street.

All of those crimes remain unsolved.

In the 30-hundred block of Fanshawe Street a 37-year-old woman was strangled. Police have arrested a man, but have not released his name. :mad:
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

The cold snap slowed down the Philly TNB - for a while.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/16579937.htm

Two more men die in overnight gun deaths

By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer

Two men were gunned down in two hours overnight, raising this year's homicide total to 31, according to Philadelphia police this morning.

Martin Norcome, 30, was shot in the chest at 11:05 last night at or near his home in the 7800 block of Michener Avenue in Germantown.

He was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about two hours later.

Police had made no arrests and had no suspects as of this morning.

Montez Felder, 21, who lived in the 2800 block of South Marshall Street, was shot in the head about 12:45 a.m. in the 2200 block of South Sixth Street in South Philadelphia, police said.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5114749

Philly Murder Rate "Disturbing"

By Dann Cuellar

March 12, 2007 - Many believe the murder rate in Philadelphia is spiraling out of control. And the big question is what can be done to stem the tide?

Action News has been reporting on the homicide problem in the city, but a number of us were taken aback when we compared Philadelphia Police homicide numbers with those of NYPD, LAPD and Chicago PD. The crisis is clearly on the radar screen at City Hall where, amongst members of Mayor John Street's administration, the homicide rate has been the topic of the day.

John Street told those in attendance Monday, "It's a real tragedy, I mean it is a real tragedy!"

Mayor John Street was showing his frustration Monday night as he summoned key members of his administration including the police commissioner and others to discuss the continuing rise in homicides.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said, "The numbers are disturbing, and we will try everything we can to stop it."

An Action News survey found that Philadelphia has a significantly higher number of homicides this year than America's three largest cities. As of 5pm, Philadelphia had recorded 76 homicides for the year, compared with 66 in New York City, 59 in Los Angeles and 53 in Chicago.

"It is very disturbing to myself obviously, to other police officers who serve the City of Philadelphia, and we will continue to go out there and do everything we can to improve the quality of life in this city," said Johnson.

A recent study by the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based law enforcement think tank, found that Philadelphia - like many other major cities - has seen a continuing rise in homicides since 2004. In that year, Philadelphia recorded 330 homicides, 377 in 2005, and 404 in 2006. Mayor Street's critics contend that hiring more cops is part of the answer.

Street commented by saying, "Trust me, if we could hire another 300 or 400, 500 officers and if we thought that would end it, we would have hired them years ago, unfortunately it's not quite so simple."

Instead, the mayor contends it's a social problem that needs the involvement of all. He agrees with others, like Phil Goldsmith who last week became President of Cease-Fire Pennsylvania, that we desperately need tougher gun laws.

Goldsmith is quoted as saying, "Until we start to minimize the easy availability of hand guns, we're (going to) continue down this road. I don't think it's the only answer but frankly, I think it's the cheapest answer." In an extraordinary move, Goldsmith says he joined the NRA last week to emphasize that people of different mindsets have to come together to solve this problem.

What's clear is this: two years' worth of double digit increases in homicides demonstrates an unmistakable pattern in the extent and nature of crime.
 
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20070423_Shootings_leave_trail_of_blood_across_city.html
Shootings leave trail of blood across city
By REGINA MEDINA

One of the dead, Juan Rosa, 32, of Feltonville, was shot multiple times in Philadelphia on Wednesday, probably died Thursday, and his body was found in Trenton the next day, police said. It was wrapped in plastic and discovered behind a home on Hampton Avenue in Trenton. Police had no other details.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday, Andrew Strimel, 19, was shot once in the head and twice in the right hand inside his vehicle parked at Jasper and Lippincott streets, said Homicide Sgt. William Gallagher.

Investigators believe that Strimel had argued with someone before he got into the car. He was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital at 11:50 a.m. Saturday.

Hours earlier, James Alford was shot multiple times in the chest on Yewdall Street in West Philadelphia and died at 12:37 a.m.

About 9 a.m. Saturday, police found Terrence Eddings, 28, shot to death in an apartment building on Chestnut Street near 12th in Center City. He had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene, said Sgt. Ron McClane.

Another man was wounded in the incident, he said.

Police charged Solomon Esangbedo, 22, with murder and related crimes, McClane said. Esangbedo lives in the apartment and the two struggled before the shot was fired, he said. (Update: Esangbedo was acquitted of all charges on Dec. 18, 2008, court records show.)

Just before 1 p.m., a 31-year-old man was killed while watching a pickup basketball game on a court at Kenderton Elementary School, 15th Street near Tioga, McClane said.

Police said Demond Brown was found on the ground shortly after 1 p.m. with gunshot wounds to the back.

Brown was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:13 p.m.

By the time police arrived at the basketball court, "most people had fled the area," McClane said.

Later in the day, police found Fatima Whitfield, of Toronto Street near Broad, dead inside an apartment on Allegheny Avenue near 15th Street. She had been shot in the face about 4:45 p.m., said Gallagher.

Hours later, a 42-year-old man was shot multiple times in the back on McKean Street near 48th. The man, not immediately identified, was pronounced dead about 10:20 p.m. Saturday, police said.

The city's 125th homicide was Kevin Morton, 42, who was found dead at 10:25 p.m. Saturday on Harley Terrace near 56th Street, shot multiple times in the torso, Gallagher said. *
 
Weekend Murder Toll Hits 7

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5233900

Weekend Murder Toll Hits 7

PHILADELPHIA - April 22, 2007 - Philadelphia's murder rate continues to climb.

Police say the city is up to 127 homicides as of late Sunday night. That includes seven fatal shootings since midnight Friday, and at least seven other people have been injured in shootings or stabbings this weekend.

Homicide detective Ron McClane says the spike in killings could be partially due to the warm weather, which brings out more people.

Police have only charged one suspect in just one of the cases.

Last year, the city had a total of 406 homicides -- the highest number in nearly a decade.

Philadelphia will exceed that number this year if the current pace continues.
 
10 Dead After Warm Weekend

http://www.nbc10.com/news/12888576/detail.html

10 Dead After Warm Weekend
Police Say Higher Temps Could Spark Higher Homicide Numbers


POSTED: 7:00 am EDT April 23, 2007
UPDATED: 5:48 pm EDT April 23, 2007

After a violent weekend in Philadelphia, homicide detectives have 10 new cases to work on, with one investigator saying the warm weather could have something to do with the spike in city killings.

A 20-year-old man was shot and killed around 10:30 p.m. in the Northeast section of Philadelphia Sunday, according to investigators.

Rafael Valez, of the 4800 block of North Fourth Street, was shot and killed on the 100 block of West Roosevelt Boulevard.





The fatal shooting rounded out a weekend of violence in Philadelphia, during which 10 people were killed; five of the homicides occurred within 24 hours, police said.

Fatimah Whitfield, 28, was killed on Saturday in an abandoned apartment in the 1500 block of West Allegheny Avenue. She was from the 1300 block of West Toronto Street.

Ida Pittman said she would raise Whitfield’s two children. Pittman said that she and Whitfield were friends.

"We need this to stop," Pittman said. "People getting killed, people not saying anything. Somebody knows who did this."

Andrew Strimel, 19, of the 1800 block of East Lippencott Street, was killed on Saturday on the 3100 block of Jasper Street.

"These murders have to stop," said Janice Striemel, the mother of the victim. "He was just getting out of a car when someone rode up on a bike and shot him in the head."

There was also another homicide Sunday night in a different part of the city.

Sterling Almond, 18, was shot and killed during a shooting spree in the Logan section of Philadelphia on Sunday night, about a half hour before the Northeast Philadelphia homicide.

Almond lived on the 1900 block of West Haines Street and was killed on the 200 block of East Bringhurst Street, police said.

Authorities said a bullet struck two other people during the Logan shooting, but they didn't release their names or ages. Both were listed in stable condition on Monday.

Before the Northeast and Logan shootings, homicide detectives already had their hands full.

By Sunday afternoon, they were investigating five fatal shootings in a span of less than 24 hours. Homicide detective Ron McClane said the spike in killings could be partially due to the warm weather, which brings more people out.

The recent spate of seven homicides began at about 10 p.m. Friday and continued until late Sunday night. Police have charged a suspect in one of the cases, and blamed community silence as the stifling force behind a lack of charges.

Authorities said they also now believe the killing of 32-year-old Juan Rosa of Hunting Park occurred in Philadelphia. He was shot several times, and his body was found Thursday night wrapped in plastic and dumped behind a Hampton Avenue home in Trenton.

Last year, the city had a total of 406 homicides -- the highest number in nearly a decade, but Philadelphia will exceed that number this year if the current pace continues, detectives said.

There were also multiple other violent incidents that left citizens injured during the weekend.

Four teenagers were in the hospital after investigators said they were stabbed at a carnival Sunday night in Wissinoming. Police said they have one person in custody and the injured teens, between the ages of 13 and 15, were all stabbed in the back. They were listed in stable condition.

Four more teenagers -- ranging in age from 13 to 17 -- were shot just before 10 p.m. in North Philadelphia near the intersection of North 28th and Huntingdon streets. The gunman was not captured.

Police shot a teenager they said they believed was involved in a stealing spree. The teen allegedly pointed a gun at officers Sunday night in West Philadelphia on North Alden Street. He was hospitalized in critical condition with two bullet wounds.

Here are the other recent homicide victims:

Victor Dash, 29, of the 900 block of Carver Street, was shot and killed Friday on the 3100 block of Euclid Avenue.

James Alford, 29, of the 800 block of West 69th Street, was killed Saturday on the 600 block of South Yewall Street.

Demond Brown, 31, of the 3500 block of North 18th Street, was killed on the 3400 block of North 15th Street on Saturday.

Terrence Eddings, 28, of North Carlisle Street, was also killed on Saturday. He was slain on the 1200 block of Chestnut Street.

An unidentified man was killed on the 4800 block of McKean Avenue on Saturday, and Kevin Morton, 30, of the 4700 block of Tackawanna Street, was killed on the 5400 block of Harley Terrace.
 
Re: Philly's Homicide Count Hits 384

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5323544

7 Murders in Phila. During Weekend

PHILADELPHIA - May 21, 2007 - Philadelphia homicide detectives are dealing with the aftermath, of a violent weekend. At least seven people have been murdered since Friday.

Seventeen-year-old Reginald Ford was killed in North Philadelphia, Sunday morning just before noon. Someone shot him on the 1500 block of York Street. He had converted to Islam after his brother was shot to death eight months ago.

Hours later, and just a block away, more shots rang out. Bullets hit and killed a man who was visiting his family and a woman waiting at a bus stop. The man didn't survive. The woman is listed in stable condition.

Police are investigating whether the two shootings on York Street are connected.

A few hours later, two innocent victims - a
woman waiting for a bus stop, and a 54 year old man - were caught in the cross fire of a gun battle.

The man, Ronald Canell, died from a bullet wound to the head. He was in the neighborhood visiting relatives.

The woman survived with a leg wound.

So far, police don't have any suspects or motives in any of the shootings.
 
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