Official: Senseless arguments behind city shootings

A barrage of violence Sunday that left five dead and seven wounded has left a top city police official puzzled.

Most of the mayhem began over what William Blackburn, chief inspector of detectives, called "senseless argument."

"Arguments are still the dominant motive," he said in a news conference yesterday, "not just for the homicides, but for the shootings."

Asked to elaborate about violence on recent weekends, Blackburn said, "I'm not going to blame weather conditions. I'm not a sociologist."

This year, the city has recorded 101 homicides, down from 131 for the comparable period last year. Sunday's total included four homicides from shootings, two of them erupting in or near bars.

The violence Sunday began at about 1:45 a.m., when police were called to Charlie B's Bar & Grill on the 4900 block of North Broad Street in Logan. There, police found 37-year-old Marcus Davis with a gunshot wound to the head. Davis, taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center, was pronounced dead 15 minutes later.

About the same time a block away, police found a 28-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his back. The victim, who was not identified, was reported in stable condition at Einstein.

At 2 a.m., police said, David DiPrimo, 24, opened fire outside a South Philadelphia bar after an argument over a woman. DiPrimo wounded four men outside the bar on Second Street near Snyder Avenue, police said; two of the victims have been released, the other two are in critical condition.

Police charged DiPrimo, of the 2600 block of South 28th Street, with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and simple assault. He is being held on $1 million bail.

Shortly before 3 a.m., police were called to the 6800 block of Limekiln Pike in West Oak Lane and there found Tyrone Miller, 43, who had been shot three times in the face and chest. Miller was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have no motive or suspect in the slaying.

At 4:02 a.m., officers on patrol spotted a woman kicking a fallen man in the head at a gas station on the 5000 block of North Broad Street. Louis Campbell, 66, of Feltonville, died at 5:25 a.m. of injuries received in the beating. Nicole Wilson, 26, of Olney, was arrested and charged with murder.

About 1:30 p.m., housing police in West Philadelphia were tipped to a shooting at a Busti Street apartment complex. Investigators found resident Robert McNair, 48, dead in the lobby of multiple gunshot wounds. Detectives have identified as suspects Brandon Brown, 23, and Kiaeem Smith, 28, who later turned himself in to Southwest Detectives.

At 5:49 p.m., police dispatchers sent officers to Kensington to investigate a report of a shooting. Kalis Leslie, 15, of Southwest Philadelphia, was found unresponsive near the intersection of Cambria and Amber Streets. Leslie, who had a gunshot wound to the chest, was taken to Temple University Hospital and pronounced dead.

Police found a second victim at the scene, an 18-year-old man, and took him to Temple, where he was in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his chest and shoulder.

At 10:25 p.m. in South Philadelphia, a 21-year-old man was shot once in the head on the 1800 block of McKean Street. He was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was in stable condition.