Police: 8 hurt in shooting near Philadelphia transit station

PHILADELPHIA — At least eight people were wounded by gunfire Wednesday near a transit station in north Philadelphia, and one was critically injured, police said.

A 71-year-old man was listed in critical condition after he was hit once in the stomach and multiple times in the legs shortly before 3 p.m. near the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station in the Olney neighbourhood, police said.

Police said a 22-year-old man was shot in the back, two other men aged 21 and 53 were hit in the legs and a 36-year-old woman and 70-year-old man were each struck in the thigh. A 17-year-old girl was grazed on the right arm. A 48-year-old man later walked into a hospital with a graze wound to his stomach, police said. He and the others were listed in stable condition.

Police reported two firearms recovered and one person in custody. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said it’s unclear whether the firearms confiscated were used in what she called a “very brazen” shooting.

“We were able to get someone in custody as quickly as we did because we had officers in the area working on another assignment,” she said. “I think it’s very telling that folks that are willing to engage in these shootings are becoming more and more emboldened regardless or not if they see us out here.”

The identity of the person in custody wasn’t immediately released, and Outlaw said the extent of that person’s involvement, if any, wasn’t yet known. But she said investigators “know that there was a car involved and there could be other people.”

Outlaw asked any witnesses to call police with information.

The shooting occurred near the SEPTA station on Broad Street, the city’s major north-south thoroughfare, and next to Einstein Medical Center, where all but one of the victims were taken. The other victim was taken to Temple University Hospital.

“Today’s mass shooting near the Olney Transportation Center, in broad daylight, is yet another tragic example of the vicious, outrageous, and unacceptable gun violence epidemic that’s threatening the lives and safety of our fellow Philadelphians,” Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. “As police continue to investigate, we remain committed to making our streets safer for all of us.”

The Associated Press