At 2:30 Sunday morning William Hatton heard gunfire in the alley behind his home in the 4200-block of Parkside. It was a gangland-style assassination. The police theory is that it was somehow drug related. Police says he was shot at least 10 times.
The deceased has been identified as 21-year-old Raheem Ellis of 56th Street. Sources say he was wounded by gunfire several months ago. Now his family is grieving deeply.
"The person know who they are. Know what they did. And justice will be served. We're kind of certain about that," said Ann Ellis, the victim's aunt.
Early Sunday morning there was a stunning flurry of gun violence city-wide - 7 shooting cases in all, 10 victims including Philadelphia's 179 homicide of the year. That was the Ellis killing.
The homicide rate is still down significantly under the new administration at City Hall, but Parkside resident Brian Fields says he's not feeling safer. "The statistics look good on paper, but I don't really see a difference around here."
The violent crime rate is still running behind last year's pace, but the summer heat has the carnage total rising in Parkside.
Mayor Michael Nutter released a statement Sunday night, about the weekend's violence.
"We remain committed to the aggressive implementation of our crime fighting strategies, including our efforts to get illegal guns off of our streets and out of the hands of criminals. We will continue to do everything we can to see that those responsible for these crimes are caught and dealt with appropriately."
