Three teens have been hospitalized after two shootings that happened along and near a busy stretch of South Street in Philadelphia overnight Sunday.
The first gunshots pierced the air around 1:15 a.m. near the intersection of 9th and South Streets in the Bella Vista section of the city, police tell NBC10.
A 17-year-old and 16-year-old, both males, were hit in the left leg area, police said. They about a block from the shooting scene before officers found them. Both were taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and are listed in stable condition. The 16-year-old's condition had been upgraded from critical.
The shooting took place in a busy section of the street lined with shops and restaurants.
The victims told detectives they were walking by when a group of men got into an argument at the corner when one pulled out a handgun and opened fire. Police have not said if the victims were involved in the altercation.
Investigators shut down South Street between 9th and 6th Streets as part of the investigation and found a number of bullet shell casings littering the sidewalk and under cars.
While that investigation under way, about an hour later, another shooting happened around the corner near the intersection of 8th and Bainbridge Streets Officers scrambled to the block after hearing the gunshots to find an injured 19-year-old man, police said. He had also been shot in the leg and was taken to Jefferson Hospital for treatment.
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Police later told NBC10 a friend of the victim shot on Bainbridge Street was arrested for possession of a weapon. He was not the gunman in the shooting however.
Police are not yet sure whether both shootings are connected, but say anything can happen along this popular stretch of the city which attracts residents from all over as well as tourists.
"This is no unusual night on South Street," said Lt. Michael Goodson. "We don't believe this was a robbery."
Goodson said police have reason to believe the shooting stemmed from a tiff that began in another neighborhood.
The suspect in the first shooting is described as a 18 to 21-year-old man standing 5-foot-7-inches tall with a medium build. There was no description for the shooter in the second incident.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Philadelphia Police tipline at 215.686.TIPS.
