Gunman critical after opening fire on Southwest Philadelphia block; 2 sought

SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A man is critical after opening fire on two men, now sought by police, on a residential block in Southwest Philadelphia.

It happened during broad daylight Thursday near 55th and Regent streets.

Police say a masked suspect cloaked his gun with a coat in 70-degree weather before spraying a barrage of bullets at two men sitting on a porch. At least one of them returned fire.

"The single gunman comes up the street here. He's in a winter jacket, he has a mask on, he's carrying a .40 caliber handgun," said Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker. "As he begins to fire at them, they fire back."

In total, police say 11 shots were fired from two separate guns.

Police say the masked gunman was critically injured, but managed to flee, dump the gun and flag down an officer for help. He was taken Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he is listed in critical condition.

Detectives tell Action News it wasn't a random attack.

"We clearly believe that they know one another because there's no reason he would come here masked, and shoot at them without them shooting back," said Walker.

Resident Annie Bryant tells us she doesn't know who was sitting on her porch at the time of the shooting.

"When I heard the gunshots I was laying down in the bed. I waited until they stopped shooting," said Bryant. "I jumped up and looked out the window, and I didn't see my grandkids. I started hollering."

Bryant says her great-grandchildren were down the street riding bikes, but their basketball hoop bares the scars of the violence.

"It's terrible, sad, they could have been out there playing basketball," said Bryant.

"Our children are out here, all day everyday, and to come home to this, it's not fair," said Lavonia Wilson, resident.

So far, no one has come forward to help police identify who the gunman's intended target was or who shot him.

"People have to understand that firing guns on public streets in the middle of the afternoon is just unacceptable, and can't be tolerated," said Walker.

Anyone with information about the men the gunman was shooting at, who also returned fire, are asked to contact police.