Philadelphia shooting: 8 including teen girl injured as gunman opens fire near subway station, suspect nabbed
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Eight persons were injured in a mass shooting that took place in a SEPTA train station near Philadelphia’s Onley neighborhood on Wednesday, February 17, reported police. Reports suggest that the victims belong between the 17 and 71 age group, including a teen girl and an elderly man, who are said to be in critical condition after they got caught in the gunfire. The shooting occurred around 2:50 pm at Broad Street and Olney Avenue near the Olney Transportation Center and Albert Einstein Medical Center.
The surveillance video shows people running amok on hearing the gunshots. The police reports have revealed that one identified suspect was taken into custody and two weapons were recovered from him. One of the SEPTA riders who witnessed the shooting told NBC10., “We saw them running and people was falling down and I was like, 'Oh my God, that's a random gunshot.”
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According to NBC Philadelphia, the victims include a “ 22-year-old man was shot once in the back, a 21-year-old man was shot once in the right leg, a 53-year-old man was shot in the right leg, a 36-year-old woman was shot in the right thigh, a 70-year-old man was shot in the right thigh, a 17-year-old girl was shot in the right arm, a 48-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the stomach and a 71-year-old man was shot once in the stomach and multiple times in both legs.”
Six of them were taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center and one of them was admitted to Temple University Hospital. The 71-year-old victim is said to be in critical condition while the others are reported to be stable.
Reacting to the shooting Mayor Kenney said, “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."
"I am beyond sickened. I refuse to accept this emergency situation as normal. We must rise together with one clear and united moral voice against the evil act of violence. People have the right to travel between work and home, and around town, without the fear of being shot, and possibly killed, by reckless, indiscriminate gunfire,” he added further.
Meanwhile, Senator Sharif Street, who represents the Third Senatorial District of Philadelphia tweeted, “Praying for all the lives impacted by a mass shooting in my district. Praying for my community. Philadelphia this is a public health emergency. We must declare it as such. So many factors to address that drive this level of violence. I am committed to ending this cycle.”
Praying for all the lives impacted by a mass shooting in my district. Praying for my community. Philadelphia this is a public health emergency. We must declare it as such.
— Senator Sharif Street (@SenSharifStreet) February 18, 2021
So many factors to address that drive this level of violence. I am committed to ending this cycle. https://t.co/JK84eUMSDC