A man was shot and killed in West Philadelphia about noon Wednesday and two other men were killed in another shooting in the Frankford section a couple hours later in a deadly start to the new year.
The first victim, Eric Miller, the oldest of the three killed, died after suffering bullet wounds to the chest and back at 11:57 a.m. along North Hobart Street in West Philadelphia, police said.
Police responding to the scene rushed the man to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 12:13 p.m.
Police did not immediately make any arrests nor did they recover a weapon.
The other two men killed, 24-year-old Javon Cooper and 27-year-old Malik Milburn, were both shot twice in their chests in gunfire along the 4700 block of Griscom Street in Frankford shortly after 2 p.m., police said. They died a short time later at nearby hospitals. Police initially said Milburn was 26.
A 32-year-old woman was also shot in the gunfire, but was recovering at a nearby hospital, police said.
No arrests were made, but police described the suspect as a man wearing an orange hooded jacket, last seen running northbound on the 4700 block of Griscom Street.
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The slayings mark a violent start to the year for a city that in 2019 saw a spike in killings. On New Year’s Eve, a woman was gunned down in a North Philadelphia home, bringing the total number of slayings in the city to 356, three more than in 2018.
Police said they made arrests in just over half the homicide cases for 2019 and that, separately, more than 1,450 people were shot in the city that same year.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced Monday that he'd selected Police Chief Danielle Outlaw of Portland, Oregon, to lead the 6,500-member force.
Outlaw says she's prepared for the challenge and calls gun violence a top priority.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence. Further information can be found here.
