1 dead, 6 injured in overnight shootout near Spring Garden Street
News footage showed cars littered with bullet holes. There was also a large amount of cash discarded in the grass in front of the apartment complex.
One person is dead and two are in critical condition after seven people were shot in the courtyard of a Philadelphia Housing Authority apartment complex near Eighth and Spring Garden Streets..
Police said more than 50 shots were fired just before midnight Tuesday on the 600 block of Franklin Place, involving six men and one woman, all in their 20s with the exception of a 58-year-old man.
A man in his 20s was found unresponsive in the 600 block of North Eighth and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Two men — one shot in the neck and the other shot 10 times through the body — were listed in critical condition and were being treated at Temple University Hospital, officials said. The four other people involved were treated for gunshot wounds and listed in stable condition.
Cars outside the apartment complex were littered with bullet holes, and at least one shot went through the window of a resident’s home. There was also a large amount of cash discarded in the grass in front of the apartment complex.
Police do not have a motive, according to Chief Inspector Scott Small, and no arrests have been made. He said authorities would examine footage from cameras in the area.
Neighbors in the Spring Garden Apartments braved the late morning sun to survey the scene, which included sidewalks splashed with dark blood spots, pink chalk circles where dozens of bullet shell casings had fallen, yellow police tape stretched across walkways, and a bullet hole in a side window of a dark-colored Chevrolet Impala.
Hector Cruz, 37, who lives with his parents, said the rapid gunfire woke him from sleep.
“I really don’t have an explanation, to be honest, except that it was scary as hell. I’m just glad my family is safe, because those bullets was kind of in this area,” Cruz said, standing in front of his ground-floor apartment, about 15 feet from a bloody patch of sidewalk.
A resident, who gave her name only as Hattie and who said she has lived in her apartment for 47 years, said her night medication kept her asleep during the mayhem. She shook her head while looking at the blood and chalk marks near her door.
“I didn’t see what happened, but when I came out, I saw all this,” she said. “What can you say? I’m concerned about myself and my kids. It’s getting close.”
Her goddaughter said the complex is plagued by young men who hang around and cause trouble. “The cops could get rid of those guys,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used out of fear for her safety.
“I don’t know if they’re in gangs, but they just be around. They hang around. I woke up out of my sleep and called my godmom to make sure she was all right,” the goddaughter said.
Police say tips can be submitted by calling 215-686-TIPS (-8477) or texting PPD TIP (773847). Tips can also be submitted anonymously online. All tips are confidential.