A man died and a woman was hurt in a double shooting before daybreak Thursday as a violent night in Philadelphia came to an end.
Philadelphia police arrived to the intersection of A and East Westmoreland streets in the Kensington neighborhood just before 5 a.m. to find an unresponsive 34-year-old man bleeding from his chest on the street, a woman in her 30s bleeding from gunshot wound to her leg on the sidewalk and a white work van with bullet holes in it partially on the sidewalk, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Police rushed the man -- later identified as Gerardo Vega from Northeast Philadelphia -- to the hospital, where he died a short time later, Small said. The woman was taken to the hospital and treated in stable condition.
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"Cleary nine shots were fired from a semiautomatic weapon," Small said.
At least eight of those shots apparently struck the parked van on the driver side, Small said.
"We're being told by (witnesses) that the male victim who died may have been driving that van," Small said.
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A bicycle on its kickstand was also found next to the van and was being investigated, police said.
Police didn't immediately know a motive in the shooting and they continued to search for the shooter or shooters, Small said.
This shooting came after hours of gun violence around the city. From 3 p.m. Wednesday until midnight at least seven people were shot -- and two men died in separate double shootings -- in five separate shootings around the city. One of those shootings left no one hurt, but a North Philadelphia McDonald's store damaged as at least 30 shots were fired.
Entering Thursday, as least 57 people have been killed in Philadelphia this year, according to police data, most from gun violence. That's down about 14% from the same date last year, which ended as one of the deadliest in Philadelphia's recorded history.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
