Before a terrifying night of gun violence in Philadelphia that saw three distinct shootings and six people left in critical condition, there was a dramatic scene in which a guy gets wounded after stealing a gun from a thief.
In different events throughout the city, two 20-year-old women and two tiny infants were in a car that was shot up, along with four youths who were shot dead in front of an apartment complex and are in serious condition.
The shootings are the most recent in a wave of gun violence that has engulfed the City of Brotherly Love.
According to City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, the city has already experienced at least 264 deadly and 1,011 non-fatal shootings this year alone.
After a 46-year-old man was found on the street on Monday with gunshot wounds to his left ankle and buttock, police said they are searching for witnesses.
On July 11, just before 1:40 p.m., a crime occurred at the intersection of Erdrick St. and Cheltenham Ave. in the Wissinoming area of northeast Philadelphia.
A dark-coloured SUV was parked up the street when one of the attackers approached his victim, who was wearing a blue t-shirt and walked down the street. The attack was caught on camera.
The man in the blue t-shirt valiantly takes the gun in the thief’s hand before he can take a shot and tries to wrestle him to the ground. Suddenly, the two are involved in a scuffle.
As the robber in the blue t-shirt begins to have the upper hand, another robber exits the black SUV and comes over to assist him.
While his companion is being used as a human shield, the second robber holds off on firing.
Finally getting his hands on the weapon, the victim engages in a brief shootout at a mere few yards away.
The first thug flees for his life in the opposite direction, and the second thug falls to the ground seemingly shot, firing back at the hero.
The two then flee together in their dark SUV, which police said was possibly an Infiniti.
When the victim was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, it was reported that his status was stable.
The first robber was described as a Hispanic male with a thin build, black hair, and wearing a black hoody over a white t-shirt and blue jeans by the Shooting Investigation Group of the Philadelphia Police Department.
A white tank top and maroon shorts with a black design on the sides were worn by the second person, who was also Hispanic and of thin build.
Following this failed robbery, a string of shootings in Philadelphia on Wednesday night left six people, including four teenagers, in critical condition.
Around 10.30 p.m., two 20-year-old women and two children were discovered inside a car that had been shot with at least 10 bullets in West Philadelphia.
According to Fox29 Philadelphia, the two adults were shot in the back and the head, and a two-year-old boy was shot in the leg. The second child, a boy of six years old, was unharmed.
Four teenagers were discovered shot to death at around two in the morning in the courtyard of the Spring Garden Homes complex, where police discovered 21 shell casings.
Two girls, ages 14 and 16, were found with gunshot wounds to the face, and two boys, ages 13 and 15, suffered arm and leg injuries.
Despite being in critical condition, all four teenagers are expected to survive.
A 26-year-old man was shot in the leg on a street and was in critical condition, just a block from the West Philadelphia car where the women and kids were shot.
According to statistics from the Philadelphia Police, there have been 292 homicide victims in Philadelphia so far this year, which is a 2% decrease from the same period last year.
However, there were 562 homicides in the city overall in 2021, an increase of 11% from 499 in 2020. Since 2010, the trend has been steadily increasing.
Given this mini-crime wave, it is not surprising that Philadelphia, which ranked fifth out of 182 cities nationwide in Wallethub’s ranking, is one of the most stressed-out cities in the nation.