Violent Night: 4 dead in Philly, police believe one shooting was case of self-defense
Officers responded to several shooting scenes throughout the city.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Four people were killed and two others injured in a matter of hours after several shootings on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
The killings add to a grim toll that has the city on track to surpass last year's record homicide rate.
The police department's website shows that there have been 325 homicides in the city as of midnight. There were 562 in 2021.
Police: Passenger Shoots Driver
Officers found one man shot inside a car on Torresdale Avenue and Gillingham Street in the Frankford section of the city shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses told authorities they saw a passenger stumble out of the car and run. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police believe the passenger shot the driver.
"It appears that this shooting occurred while the vehicle was in motion. The front seat passenger shooting the driver of the car while the vehicle was still in motion and then it crashed," Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace said.
A gun was recovered at the scene.
Shooting Near Playground
This followed a shooting in Kensington where two men were shot. One of the victims was shot in the shoulder and died from his injuries. The other man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
This shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on the 3100 block of Rorer Street. Investigators found 16 shell casings from two different weapons.
Most of the evidence was located near a playground and elementary school.
"We're very lucky on a summer night in August, that although we have two victims, one who died, both adults, there were no children struck by gunfire," Philadelphia Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Shot in the Head
A 28-year-old man was found shot multiple times in the head on the 200 block of Zeralda Street in Germantown around 6:48 p.m.
Police say the victim was shot at least four times, including once in the back.
He was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police: Case of Self-Defense
Police believe a deadly shooting in North Philadelphia was a case of self-defense.
It happened right around 6 p.m. in the 2800 block of North Taney Street.
Police say a man opened fire on another man who approached him and pulled out a gun.
The 27-year-old man died after being shot multiple times in the chest.
According to Inspector D.F. Pace, the 27-year-old man was circling the block while engaging in some sort of verbal contact with the shooter.
At some point during the incident, the 27-year-old man got out of the vehicle and pulled out a weapon, said Pace. That's when the shooter opened fire.
The 27-year-old man died at the hospital.
Police say they found a bullet from the shooter still lodged in the man's gun.
"There is a projectile presumably from the shooter's gun embedded into the gun of the decedent, and it's still there, which lends credence to the information that we received from the shooter that he was shooting in self-defense," said Pace.
It was not immediately clear what led up to the shooting.
Police said the shooter had a permit to carry and is cooperating with police.
