Updated 7:20 p.m.
Philadelphia police say eight people, ages 17 to 71, were shot Wednesday afternoon near the busy intersection of Broad Street and Olney Avenue, the site of SEPTA’s Olney Transportation Center.
The shooting happened at approximately 2:50 p.m. Chief Inspector Michael McCarrick said multiple men got out of a car and began firing at a group gathered near the intersection.
Police say a 71-year-old Black man was shot once in the stomach and multiple times in both of his legs, and that a 22-year-old Black man was shot in the back.
A 21-year-old Black man and a 53-year-old Black man were both shot in the right leg, according to police. The department also reports that a 36-year-old Black woman and a 70-year-old Black man were shot in the right thigh and that a 17-year-old Black woman was shot in the right arm.
The eighth victim, a 48-year-old Black man, walked into nearby Albert Einstein Medical Center with a graze wound to his stomach, according to police.
Police say one victim is listed in critical condition. The rest are in stable condition.
This is the second mass shooting in Philadelphia so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The organization defines a mass shooting as any incident with at least four victims shot or shot and killed, excluding the person doing the shooting.
A spokesman for Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration declined to comment on Wednesday’s shooting, instead referring a reporter to the Philadelphia Police Department.
“This is happening far too often. It’s happening in broad daylight. We need everyone to come together to solve these cases,” said Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
Six of the eight people shot are being treated at Albert Einstein Medical Center, according to police. Officers transported the seventh victim to Temple University Hospital.
“Right now, we have one critical who sustained a gunshot wound and is in surgery,” said McCarrick. “The others range from a graze wound to actually being struck.”
Police recovered two guns from the scene. They have apprehended two suspects so far, said McCarrick.
“We’re trying to see what their connectivity would be to this,” he said.
Latania Geiger, who recently moved into a place nearby, learned about the shooting from a crime app on her phone, but was shocked when a reporter informed her that the shooting had sent seven people to the hospital.
Her block, she said, is usually quiet as can be.
“You could hear a pin drop at night,” said Geiger.
Roger Zepernick, who has lived in Olney for six years, was on his way back from picking up takeout in Fairmount when he ran into heavy traffic on Broad Street.
He wasn’t surprised once he found out what was causing the congestion. Last year, his daughter and his two grandsons left Philadelphia, in part to escape the city’s gun violence epidemic.
“It’s probably been a lot better for them,” said Zepernick.
Asked about Wednesday’s mass shooting, Zepernick lamented the violent incident, adding that the pandemic has heightened tensions in the neighborhood by forcing so many people into isolation.
“I think our community is stressed out,” he said.
Phil, who declined to give his last name, said he has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years. He noted how busy the area around the transportation center was before the pandemic, with Girls High School right across the street.
“This is a huge shock,” he said. “I don’t feel safe anywhere … You get locked in a groove, you go from point A to point B and you’re ok, but this comes up and it rattles the nerves a little bit.”
He said he doesn’t know what more city leaders can do to stop the bloodshed.
“I think the pandemic played a role in this shooting,” he said.
The incident comes as gun violence continues to surge in the city, an escalating crisis researchers have linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns designed to stop the spread that has added to the economic distress of many communities.
At least 71 people have been murdered in Philadelphia so far this year, a 48% increase over the same time in 2020, the deadliest year in three decades.
As of Sunday, nearly 200 people had been shot so far this year, compared to 121 in 2020.
As police continue to investigate Wednesday’s mass shooting, City Councilmember Jaime Gauthier, who is pushing the Kenney administration to act to prevent gun violence with more urgency, mourned the incident as yet another example of a city being “torn apart by gun violence.”
“It is my hope that our city moves forward immediately with an urgent, comprehensive, and transparent response to this dire public health crisis, as numbers continue to spike,” said Gauthier in a statement.
I’m speechless.
We need to do more to keep our communities safe.
It isn’t enough to discuss #GunViolence after a shooting. We need to have a serious strategy around intervention and prevention. #EnoughIsEnough https://t.co/cKlxTTqEfk
— Councilmember Isaiah Thomas (@CMThomasPHL) February 17, 2021
In March, the Kenney administration is expected to release an updated version of its Philadelphia Roadmap to Safer Communities, a five-year strategic plan released in January 2019 to address the city’s persistent gun violence problem.
The administration is discussing the possibility of providing more regular public updates on the city’s efforts to reduce gun violence, something Gauthier called on the mayor to do as part of a resolution passed last year with strong support from her colleagues in City Council.
Nearly a month after anti-violence activist Jamal Johnson began a hunger-strike designed to force Kenney’s hand on Gauthier’s resolution, Kenney last week pledged to Johnson outside City Hall that he would work to get gun violence under control, ending the strike.
“Our city is crying out for more attention on Gun Violence!” Johnson tweeted on Wednesday evening. “Mr Mayor, please act immediately!”
— #JamalJohnsonSKU (@JAMAL_SKU) February 17, 2021
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
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8 people shot near Olney Transportation Center - WHYY
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