2 shot at West Philly market, a year after owner fatally shot a masked armed robber there

Almost a year after the owner of a West Philadelphia corner food store fatally shot a masked armed robber, the store’s new owner and a customer were shot Monday night by two gunmen who targeted the customer, Philadelphia police said Tuesday.

The gunfire erupted shortly before 7 p.m. at the 54 & Wyalusing Food Market, at 54th Street and Wyalusing Avenue. Two male suspects walked by the store, doubled back, looked through the glass door, went inside, and opened fire on an 18-year-old man, according to Capt. Frank Milillo, commanding officer of Southwest Detectives.

“We have no motive right now, but apparently it looks like this male may have been targeted,” Milillo told reporters at an afternoon news conference. “We’re in the process of trying to ascertain and go through video so we can get some photos out.”

The 18-year-old man, hospitalized in critical but stable condition, was shot twice in the buttocks, once in the neck, and once in the left arm, Milillo said. The owner, Franklin Peralta, 38, received a graze wound to the lower left leg.

Peralta, a married father of four and a native of the Dominican Republic, told a reporter Tuesday that he had been cooking a cheesesteak in the back of the store when a bullet passed through the cooler case that holds fruits, vegetables, and meats for slicing. He pulled up his pant leg and showed his wound.

He was asked why he didn’t take the day off. “I have to pay the rent,” he responded with a smile, speaking in Spanish while a friend translated. “I’m a little nervous.”

Both suspects are black men with beards, Milillo said. One had a black gun and wore a dark hoodie and dark pants; the other was thin and wore a hoodie and dark pants with a reflective patch on the bottom right leg.

A block away, at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, a man was shot in the groin at Pennsgrove and Conestoga Streets. He was hospitalized in stable condition. “Of course we’re going to look into that,” Milillo said. “It’s right in the vicinity. It’s a block away from this shooting.”

Within an hour of Tuesday’s shooting, two members of the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network were in front of the market handing out informational literature about the group’s support and resource services.

Brandon Jones, 34, who has worked with the group for six months, said he had served five years in prison for attempted murder after shooting a rival drug dealer in the early 2000s.

“These shootings are senseless,” Jones said as he stood with Robert Parker in the afternoon drizzle. “We say that black lives matter, but to young black people black lives don’t matter across the street. We have to do different things to try to instill this in our young people.”

On March 14, 2019, the market’s owner at the time, Elvis Nuñez, shot a gunman who burst through the front door and took a shot at him. The shooting was ruled justifiable homicide by the District Attorney’s Office.

“It was the only way I could stay alive with my family,” Nuñez said the day afterward. “It was going to be me or the person.” Nuñez said he didn’t want to have to carry a gun, “but there are a lot of bad people in Philly and I have to protect my family and I have to protect myself.”

Tipsters in this week’s shootings should call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3184 or 215-686-TIPS or TIPS@phillypolice.com.