Deadly gun violence in Philadelphia continued from 2022 to 2023, as at least 13 people were killed and one was killed in at least 11 shootings in the first 24 hours of the new year. An 80-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy were among the injured.
Double fatal shooting at Strawberry Mansion
The first shooting of the year appears to have occurred around 2:10 p.m. Sunday along Clifford Street in the city’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, according to the Philadelphia Police release.
Two men in their 30s were killed in the street, police said. The officers rushed them to the hospital. One man – who was shot in the chest – died soon after, while the other was listed in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his leg.
No arrests were made immediately during the fatal double shooting.
An 80-year-old woman killed minutes after midnight
Many of the shootings occurred before the sun even rose on the first day of 2023, and the first shooting victim of the year was an 80-year-old woman.
An 87-year-old woman was shot in the shoulder at around 12:15 a.m. along Salmon Street near East Ontario Street in the Port Richmond section, police said. She was listed in stable condition at the hospital.
Police said the investigation continued as they searched for the killer.
Shooting during an alleged domestic assault
Police went to the 4800 block of Tackawanna Street in the Frankford neighborhood around 1 a.m. to find a 30-year-old man shot in the torso. Police took the man to hospital where he was listed in stable condition.
Police said the man shot was assaulting a 30-year-old woman during a fight. She then retrieved a gun which she is authorized to carry and shot the man.
Police recovered the gun and took the woman into custody, but did not say whether charges would be filed.
Two teenagers shot
The youngest shooting victim on the first day of 2023 was a 15-year-old boy killed along with an 18-year-old in a shootout on the 1900 block of North 3rd Street in North Philadelphia at around 2:35 am, according to police.
The 15-year-old was shot in each arm, while the 18-year-old was shot in the leg, police said. Both were taken to hospital and listed in stable condition. Police did not recover any weapons and did not immediately make any arrests.
Several more shootings before the early dawn of 2023
At around 1.45am, police were called to a hospital where a 19-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the neck had turned up, investigators said. Doctors have listed the man in stable condition.
The man was shot and killed near 56th and Walnut Streets in West Philadelphia, police said. The search for his shooter and motive continued on Monday.
At around 2 a.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in the neck along the 3300 block of Ridge Avenue at the Strawberry Mansion, police said. He was rushed to hospital where he was listed in critical condition. The police were looking for the killer.
Shortly after 3:50 a.m., officers arrived at the 2800 block of North Lawrence Street to find a 20-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his arm, police said. He was taken to hospital where he was listed in stable condition. Police did not recover any weapons and did not immediately make any arrests.
At around 4.30am, a man in his 30s arrived at the hospital with two abrasion wounds to his head, police said. The man was shot inside a property along the 2500 block of Ridge Avenue in North Philadelphia, investigators said, noting they found no weapons and made no arrests.
At around 5.10am, officers arrived at a hospital after a man in his 30s presented with a gunshot wound to his thigh, police said. The man was treated in stable condition.
Investigators discovered the man was killed along the 4100 block of North Broad Street. No arrests were made immediately and police found no weapons.
The gun violence continues into the afternoon, evening
Just before 2 p.m., a man in his 50s was shot in the leg along Master Street near 59th Street, police said. He was hospitalized in stable condition. No arrests were made and no weapons were recovered.
Finally, a 17-year-old boy was wounded in the leg during a drive-by shooting along the 1900 block of West Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia at around 7:20 p.m., police said. He was hospitalized in stable condition. The investigators did not immediately proceed with the arrest.
These shootings came on the heels of the second deadliest year on record in Philadelphia as 514 homicides were reported in Philadelphia in 2022, according to police data.
There were at least 2,273 shootings in Philadelphia in 2022, according to data from the Municipal Comptroller’s Office. Children made up just under 10 percent of the total shooting victims.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or by texting LOVEIS on 22522.
