2 hurt in separate shootings along same North Philly street

A pair of shootings, along the same North Philadelphia street -- just about two hours and five blocks apart -- left two people injured on Wednesday night.

According to police, the first incident occurred at about 9 p.m., when a 19-year-old woman told police she was shot in the leg as she stood with friends along the 2700 block of North Sydenham Street in the Nicetown section of North Philadelphia.

According to Chief Police Inspector Scott Small, officers met the woman after they heard gunshots coming from the area of Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue and ran to the scene.

The woman who was injured, Small said, lived in the area and was talking with friends when she was hit.

"She was involved in no dispute. She believes she was struck by stray gunfire," said Small.

Nearby, along that block and the 1500 block of Lehigh Avenue, Small said officers recovered at least 21 spent shell casings.

A witness told police he saw someone shooting at that time and he stepped out of his car, produced his legally-owned firearm and returned gunfire, Small told NBC10.

That man remained on the scene and spoke to police following the incident and, Small said, he has not been charged in this incident.

Small said that the woman was taken to a nearby hospital where she was listed in stable condition, and so far, police have no motive in this shooting.

However, he said, there were several surveillance cameras in the area and the investigation is ongoing.

NBC10

Then, about two hours later and five blocks away, along the 2200 block of North Sydenham Street in North Philadelphia, police responded after a man was shot twice in the back.

According to Small, that incident happened at about 11 p.m. after police got a call for a shooting in that area.

Responding officers found a 35-year-old man inside a vehicle after it had jumped a curb and crashed into a tree, Small said.

The police inspector said that the man had been shot twice in his lower back and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

However, Small said, the man was "conscious and talking," and was expected to survive his injuries.

At the scene, police found two shell casings and, Small said, a surveillance camera in the area captured the shooting.

Small said the footage shows the man involved in some sort of altercation with another man before the shooting occurred.

After the shooting, the wounded man hit the ground and the suspected shooter fled on foot, Small said. But, after a few moments, Small said, the injured man got to his feet and climbed into the vehicle, before he drove it about half-way down the block before the crash.

Small said there is no motive in this shooting, though the men involved may have been in an argument before the shooting. And, he said, the injured man was not from this area, so, police are still unsure why he was in this neighborhood at the time.

These incidents, police said, do not appear to be connected.

An investigation into this shooting, Small said, is also underway.