Man fatally shot on stretch of Kelly Drive popular among runners, rowers, and rollerbladers

Philadelphia police Saturday morning processed the scene of a fatal shooting on Kelly Drive as runners, rowers, and rollerbladers passed by on the popular stretch along the Schuylkill.

Police said a 31-year-old man was shot in the back of the head just after 6 a.m. in a parking lot between the boathouses for the crew teams of Temple University, St. Joseph’s University, and St. Joseph’s Preparatory School.

Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene, near where Kelly Drive and the Schuylkill River Trail pass under Strawberry Mansion Bridge.

Police said no weapon had been recovered and no arrest had been made. They did not release the identity of the victim.

The body lay covered with a white cloth in the parking lot, almost equidistant from a camping chair set up on the Kelly Drive edge of the lot and a car parked on the river side that police were examining.

As is usual for that time of the morning, runners, rowers, and rollerbladers were working out in the area as police erected crime-scene tape, conducted interviews, and searched for evidence.

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It was just one of several shootings in the city Saturday.

Just before 3:30 a.m., a 24-year-old man was shot once in the chest on the 6100 block of West Passyunk Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, police said. He was transported by private vehicle to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 4 a.m.

And just after 4:30 a.m., a 47-year-old man was shot once in the lower abdomen on the 4200 block of North Seventh Street in Hunting Park. He was reported in critical condition at Temple University Hospital.

Almost 12 hours later, four people, including a teenager, were shot shortly after 4 p.m. on the 1300 block of East Luzerne Street in Juniata Park.

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According to police, a 39-year-old man was shot multiple times and taken by private vehicle to Jefferson Frankford Hospital in critical condition, and a 20-year-old man was shot nine times and taken by police to Temple University Hospital in critical condition. A 37-year-old man shot once in the right foot and an 18-year-old male shot once in the right bicep were first taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in stable condition and were expected to be transferred to Temple Hospital.

About 4:45 p.m., a 25-year-old man was shot in the right shoulder at 52nd Street and Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia. He was reported in stable condition at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

Four hours later, a 35-year-old man was shot in both legs in the 2400 block of North Stanley Street. He was taken to Temple Hospital, and was reported in stable condition, police said.

Police said no arrests had been made in any of the shootings. They did not release the victims’ identities.