Philadelphia police

Shots Fired During Street Brawl Leads to Police-Involved Shooting in Old City

A witness is speaking out after a street fight led to a police-involved shooting in Old City early Saturday morning.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10 she was with her boyfriend, his brother and a group of friends at 2nd Street and Black Horse Alley Saturday around 2 a.m. just as clubs closed for the night. The woman said they were walking to their car when a man suddenly grabbed her and her friend. The woman said this led to a fight which quickly spiraled out of control. Part of the brawl was captured on surveillance video.

“Other people started jumping into the fight,” she said.

One of the men fighting then allegedly threatened the woman and her friends. 

“He said, ‘You don’t know us! We got guns! We got guns in the trunk!’” the woman said. “And then he started throwing up gang signs!”

As the fight started to break up, she then heard gunshots.

“People screaming and people running,” she said. “You hear the tires screeching. Everyone was running and I’m crawling on the floor.”

The woman said she then saw her boyfriend jump into a black Cadillac with his brother and their friend. The woman got into another car with another friend.

“We just got into an altercation and somebody threatened to shoot us,” she said. “So once we hear gunshots, we’re leaving. We’re running. So that’s what we did.”

While the chaos was ensuing, Philadelphia Police officers were responding to the shooting. As they were running eastbound on the 200 block of Chestnut Street they spotted the black Cadillac. Investigators said the vehicle was speeding and was going the wrong way down Chestnut.

The Cadillac then drove on the sidewalk in order to avoid oncoming traffic, according to police. Police say the car continued to move towards the officers. The officers then took out their weapons and opened fire at the Cadillac causing it to crash into the fence of a construction zone on 3rd and Chestnut streets. 

“There’s a whole bunch of people in a panic,” the woman said. “You’re just shooting at a car that you’re assuming shot someone.”

The woman claims her boyfriend’s brother, who was behind the wheel, was only trying to flee the scene of the first shooting and was not trying to intentionally run the officers over.

“It wasn’t just one shot, two shot,” she said. “It was like three, four or five shots. Why would you keep on shooting? I don’t get it. Especially when there are people everywhere, running everywhere. It makes no sense.”

The woman’s boyfriend, his brother and their friend were all taken into custody but police say only the boyfriend’s brother will be charged. They have not yet revealed what that charge will be but say it will most likely be reckless driving. Police also say all three men had cuts on their hands they received during the fight.

As for the initial shooting at 2nd Street and Black Horse Alley, police say a 28-year-old man was struck. He was taken to Hahnemann Hospital where he is currently in stable condition. They also say four 9mm weapons were recovered at the scene. No one else was seriously injured during the fight or shooting, according to investigators.

The officers who shot at the car are currently on administrative duty. The Internal Affairs Unit is investigating the police-involved shooting while the Central Detective Division continues to investigate the first shooting.

Contact Us