A 23-year-old man took a bullet to the back Sunday morning while sitting inside his Chevy Blazer on the 500 block of Snyder Avenue, police said.
Several males approached the vehicle on foot and fired several shots around 2:45 a.m., according to Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detective Division.
Two bullets left holes in the lower part of the Blazer, while another found its target, the sergeant said.
The victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition earlier this week.
Police continue to search for a motive and the shooters.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Man wounded in drive-by
A group of males in a car opened fire on a 20-year-old man as he was walking on the 1600 block of Tasker Street early Friday, police said.
The shooters, who were inside a black Oldsmobile Delta 88, unloaded four shots at the victim around 1:45 a.m., said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
The victim was hit in the left thigh and taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was treated and released, Biello said.
Police are investigating a motive in the case.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Christmas shopper stabbed
Two men accosted, robbed and stabbed a 21-year-old man walking home Monday night after Christmas shopping on South Street, police said.
The culprits approached the victim around 7 p.m. on the 600 block of South Fifth Street and demanded his bags, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
During the ensuing fight, one of the robbers stabbed the victim in the right shoulder and chest, Biello said.
The victim fled and made it to St. Agnes Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition earlier this week, added the sergeant.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Masked muggers beat victim
Four men donning ski masks assaulted and robbed a 42-year-old man Sunday night on the 700 block of Reed Street, police said.
The victim told police two of the assailants held him down while the others punched him in the face and rummaged through his pockets, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
Earlier this week, the victim was listed in stable condition after being treated for a laceration under his right eye at Jefferson University Hospital, Biello said.
The attackers made off with the victim’s wallet, ID and $80 in the 9:45 p.m. incident, added the sergeant.
Grenade causes panic
Seventeenth District police responded early Friday to a report of someone hurling a grenade through the living-room window of a home.
When officers arrived on the 1500 block of South Ringgold Street, they discovered an orange hand grenade with pin intact lying on the kitchen floor, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
After evacuating the home, the officers notified the Ordnance Disposal Unit, which determined the device was an inactive replica of an MK-11 fragmentation grenade, said Biello.
The device was taken to bomb-squad headquarters and destroyed after the 3 a.m. discovery, the sergeant said.
Welcome to the jungle
Violence erupted at Friday’s Guns N’ Roses concert at the First Union Center when the band’s famously temperamental lead singer, Axl Rose, was a no-show.
Fifteen people were hurt, including five who were taken to Methodist Hospital for treatment of various neck and back injuries, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives. The sergeant added that there were no serious injuries and no arrests.
Rose, the last original member of the 1980s hard-rock group, was allegedly a no-show because he was sick. Or was he?
Various reports said he was holed up in his Manhattan hotel room engrossed in a basketball game.
Ike Richman, Comcast-Spectacor spokesperson for the First Union Center, refused to discuss any alleged damage to the venue. "I’m not going to comment about that at all," he said tersely when contacted Monday.
Richman did say that around 10:45 p.m. Friday, the venue was informed of "an illness in the band" and that the show was off. Richman admitted he began beefing up security before breaking the news to the sold-out crowd of 20,000.
The announcement was finally made after 11 p.m.
Incensed fans did not take the news sitting down. Some reportedly hurled bottles, tossed chairs and pulled down tiles from the ceiling. Outside, others vented their rage by turning over trashcans and knocking down fire hydrants.
Biello said extra police and EMS personnel were dispatched to the scene once the violence escalated.
Sunday’s Guns N’ Roses concert at the First Union Spectrum also was cancelled, as well as the band’s entire tour.
Funeral home in flames
Fire broke out Tuesday morning inside the three-story Carto Funeral Home at 2212-14 S. Broad St.
A 74-year-old resident of the building was taken to St. Agnes Medical Center and treated for minor smoke inhalation and a bruised left hip, said Executive Fire Chief William Brightcliffe.
Also injured in the blaze was a firefighter from Ladder 19 who was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was treated for a pulled muscle in his upper right arm, the chief said.
Pipeline 49 at 13th and Shunk streets and Ladder 19 at 24th and Wolf streets were the first companies dispatched at 6:43 a.m., Brightcliffe said. Firefighters encountered flames and heavy smoke throughout the building, said the chief.
The second alarm came at 7:08 a.m. and more fire companies followed. It took 22 pieces of equipment and apparatus and 75 firefighters to bring the blaze under control 40 minutes after it began, Brightcliffe said.
The fire started in the first-floor rear section of the building and was confined to that floor. The fire marshal cited the cause of the blaze as careless smoking, the chief said.
Woman robbed, not raped
The victim of a robbery in her own apartment last week was sexually assaulted but not raped, both the woman and police sources clarified this week.
The victim, 38, was carrying groceries into her apartment on the 2400 block of South 10th Street around 6 p.m. Dec. 2 when the intruder forced his way inside the vestibule while her back was turned. He then pointed a gun at her and demanded money and jewelry, she said, and forced her around the apartment and into the bedroom, where the sexual assault took place.
The culprit did not rape the woman, however, and thus hospital treatment was not an issue.
He made off with $60 in cash and two gold rings the victim was wearing. One ring was designed with a square-shaped amethyst and diamonds; the other featured multicolored stones in the shape of a heart, she reported.
The victim said she was making a second trip from her car to her apartment with groceries in hand when the intruder sneaked up on her. One of the victim’s neighbors later reported seeing a man fitting the culprit’s description earlier that evening on the block, and said he looked to be casing the area.
Police have released a composite sketch of the suspect that depicts a 26- to 30-year-old black male, 6-feet tall, 180-190 pounds and sporting a goatee and a thin mustache. He was wearing a black knit cap.
"I didn’t even see him coming," the victim told the Review earlier this week. "At 6 p.m., I didn’t think I needed to worry."
Now the woman wants to warn other community residents to be alert when they are entering their houses, no matter the hour, and especially if they’re alone.
"You can’t be too careful," she said.
–by Sandra Pilla
