Young man shot on the Market-Frankford Line in West Philly, marking the second SEPTA shooting this week
The victim is in stable condition after being shot in his left arm, and police say a suspect is in custody.
A 19-year-old man was shot on SEPTA’s westbound Market-Frankford Line Friday morning, the second shooting to happen in the city’s subway system in three days.
The man, whom authorities have not identified, was shot in the left arm while riding the subway at 52nd Street Station in West Philadelphia just before 8 a.m. Friday, according to Philadelphia police. He is in stable condition and being treated at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in University City.
The shooting was sparked by a fight between two men that started on the subway, said Chuck Lawson, acting chief of the SEPTA Police. Two more men joined the fray, he said, and the fight turned into a three-on-one brawl.
One of the men pulled out a handgun and shot, hitting the 19-year-old in the arm, Lawson said. The victim held down the shooter until police arrived, he said, and officers then detained three of the men involved.
Lawson did not say if the man who was shot had said he acted in self-defense.
A passenger on the train pushed the emergency call button when the fight broke out, alerting the train operator, said Lawson.
Police were still searching for the fourth man involved in Friday’s incident, which unfolded in less than 60 seconds, said Lawson.
Market-Frankford Line service has since been restored to regular operations, SEPTA officials said. While police were on the scene, passengers had to board on westbound platforms between the 40th Street and 56th Street stations.
The shooting was the second to occur on SEPTA this week. Two people were hospitalized after being shot inside Snyder Station on the Broad Street Line on Wednesday evening.
Philadelphia police arrested Saquan Ausborne, 29, later Wednesday night for that shooting. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and related crimes, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.
Wednesday’s shooting stemmed from an argument that got physical between Ausborne, his girlfriend, her ex-boyfriend, and two of his friends, police said.
During the fight, Ausborne, of the 1700 block of Wharton Street, pulled out a gun and began firing, authorities said. The ex-boyfriend was hit in his hip and the girlfriend, who was standing behind her ex, was hit in the leg.
A weapon was recovered at the scene, thought it was unclear whose weapon it was. Ausborne is being held on $1.1 million bail and a stay-away order was issued.
The incidents come amid renewed concerns about passenger safety on Philadelphia’s two subway lines. The transit agency’s ridership has continued to decline post-pandemic, prompting SEPTA to try new safety measures, including the installation of seven-foot fare gates.
On Friday, SEPTA CEO and general manager Leslie Richards said SEPTA’s police department would also be adding to its ranks, but said gun violence on the public transit system was part of a larger citywide crisis.
“We are going to do everything that we can to make our system safe, starting with our continued commitment to boosting staff for the SEPTA Transit Police Department,” she said. “But there are issues here that are much bigger than SEPTA.”
Twenty-five officers are expected to join SEPTA police within the coming months, 21 of them from a class of recruits set to graduate in June, said Richards. In an effort to attract more officers, SEPTA raised starting pay for recruits to $56,507 annually — up from $46,536, according to a SEPTA spokesperson. SEPTA also increased salaries for officers with more experience, the spokesperson said.
SEPTA added more police officers to train cars beginning in mid-February, alongside an additional 60 unarmed security officers across stations and trains. The initiative followed a pilot program in January that added artificial intelligence to security cameras across subway platforms to more quickly detect when a gun is discharged.