Germantown mosque hires security company to patrol crime riddled block
At least 10 people have been shot around the 4900 block of Germantown Avenue in the last month.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It was nearly two weeks ago that gunfire erupted outside of a mosque in Philadelphia's Germantown section.
The shooting left three people injured and one dead. Now, members of that mosque are taking steps to make the streets safer.
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Twice a day for the rest of the year, security agent Kacy Johnson and his partner plan to walk up and down Germantown Avenue from Wister to Logan.
The goal is to check on businesses and residents who've been hostage to the gun violence unfolding on that five-block strip.
At least 10 people have been shot there in the last month.
"The kids don't really have anything to do," said Johnson. "They come to the streets. The streets call them."
The Germantown Masjid hired the security company after a 24-year-old was shot to death near their mosque two weeks earlier.
"No one wants to see these events continuously happening, and everyone has a vested interest in this neighborhood. We have women, we have children, we have elderly, and they shouldn't have to live in fear," said Ihsan Dawud of Germantown Masjid.
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Some residents say they already notice a difference.
"Two weeks ago, there was a shooting like almost every two days. It's been a week now, and nothing. Looks like it's getting better," said manager Ehab Elian at Germantown Pizza.
