‘They both were executed': Men shot, killed along North Philly street

Two men were found shot to death less than a block from each other, both apparently killed execution-style, according to Philadelphia police.

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Officers responded to West Pike and North Reese streets in the Hunting Park neighborhood just before 1 a.m. Wednesday to find two men bleeding from gunshot wounds about a half block from each other, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

"It appears that the shooter at both of these scenes walked right up to the victims and fire multiple shots," Small said. "It appears that they both were executed."

Police officers rushed each man to a nearby hospital where each was pronounced dead just minutes later. One of the victims was 42 years old, the other 35.

"Both were shot in the head, the chest and the torso," Small said.

Investigators found evidence that eight shots were fired at one man and at least four shots were fired at the other, Small said.

"We don't know if it's one shooter or two shooters," Small said, while noting both deadly shootings appeared to related. "It appears the shooter or shooters walked right up on these victims and fired the shots."

None of the bullets struck any nearby cars or buildings, police said.

Investigators hoped that surveillance cameras captured something that could help police figure out what happened.

Philadelphia continues to struggle with deadly violence. Entering Wednesday, at least 351 people had been killed in the city so far in 2023, according to police data. That's down about 20% from the same time last year, but still on pace to be one of the deadliest years in the past 16 years.