2 men fatally shot while riding in funeral procession in Upper Darby

Two men were fatally shot while riding in a funeral procession on Friday afternoon to a cemetery in Upper Darby for the burial of a homicide victim from Philadelphia, police said.

Shortly before 1 p.m., the large procession was in the area of Marshall and Old Marshall Roads near Friends Southwestern Burial Ground when unknown men drove up alongside, got out of their vehicle, and started shooting into a sedan, said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy M. Bernhardt.

The victims, ages 21 and 25, were in the driver’s and front-passenger seats of the sedan when they were shot, Bernhardt said. The men, whose names were being withheld pending family notifications, were pronounced dead at the scene.

“They were definitely targeted and ambushed,” Bernhardt said in a phone interview.

The slow-moving procession had just moved into Upper Darby from Philadelphia and was about 500 yards from Cobbs Creek Parkway when the shooting occurred.

The shooters got back in their vehicle and fled.

Bernhardt said investigators were interviewing witnesses, checking area surveillance video, and working with Philadelphia police to determine if there is a connection with the recent homicide victim who was to be buried Friday.

Representatives for Friends Southwestern Burial Ground could not be reached for comment.

In early 2021, there were two midday shootings at the burial ground and investigators at the time said those incidents appeared to be gang-related.

» READ MORE: Retaliatory shootings at an Upper Darby cemetery have neighbors on edge and police frustrated

In recent years, the burial ground has seen an increase in funerals because the site offers “green burials” in which un-embalmed bodies are laid into the earth without a casket. Such burials can be substantially less costly than regular funerals and also are favored in Muslim communities for religious reasons.