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Philadelphia man arrested for shooting 20-year-old during Eagles celebrations in Center City

The shooting was just one of several incidents that turned dangerous during fans' celebrations of the Eagles' NFC Championship win.

Philadelphia Eagles celebrate the win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday near City Hall.
Philadelphia Eagles celebrate the win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday near City Hall.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

A Philadelphia man shot a fellow reveler in Center City on Sunday night during raucous celebrations by Eagles fans over the team’s NFC championship win, police said.

Amere Wright, 18, of the 6100 block of North Broad Street, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with aggravated assault and related crimes for shooting a 20-year-old man, whom police did not identify, in his lower abdomen and hip, police said.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m., the victim sought help from police officers who were working the Eagles crowd detail at 1300 Chestnut St., police said. They took him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was in stable condition.

Police said the shooting was the result of an argument.

After reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses and body-worn camera footage from officers assigned to the crowd detail, investigators identified Wright as the shooter, police said.

On Wednesday morning, a SWAT team executed a search warrant at Wright’s home and he was taken into custody without incident, police said. Inside the home, they said, detectives found the clothing Wright was wearing when he shot the man, along with his cell phone and a loaded black handgun.

The shooting was one of several violent incidents during fan celebrations of the Eagles victory as the team heads to the Super Bowl.

Minutes later, at Broad and Spring Garden Streets, a Narberth woman drove an SUV through a crowd of cheering fans, injuring eight people, police said. Rebekah DeShields, 26, has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, assault by vehicle, and related crimes, police said.

Earlier in the night, a 25-year-old man, whom police did not identify, was stabbed in his right leg by Tramayne Davis-Blockson, 34, outside Lincoln Financial Field after the two got into an argument, according to police. Davis-Blackson faces charges of aggravated assault and related crimes.

Two officers trying to disperse the large crowds were also assaulted Sunday night, and police were investigating a video circulating on social media of a man shooting a gun into the air in the middle of a crowd.

And Tuesday afternoon, Temple University student Tyler Sabapathy, 18, died from injuries he sustained when he fell headfirst from a light pole he had climbed on Sunday night during celebrations at 15th and Market Streets near City Hall, officials said. Sabapathy, an accomplished gymnast who had been studying at the university’s College of Public Health, had been on life support since his fall, authorities said.