A man walking his dog made a grisly discovery on the lawn near a Philadelphia library overnight.
The pedestrian flagged down a patrolling police officer just before 1 a.m. to say he saw what appeared to be a body in a grassy area near Old York Road and Duncannon Avenue, which is next to the Logan Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Medics pronounced the man dead a short time later. It appeared he had been shot at least once in the chest and police found three bullet casings near the man's body.
"Police didn't get any calls for gunshots, or shooting," Small said.
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It wasn't clear how long the man's body was there until it was found.
Investigators hoped that library surveillance cameras and other cameras in the area recorded something that would help police track down the killer of the man who appeared to be in his 30s, Small said.
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Philadelphia continues to struggle with deadly violence in the city. Entering Friday, at least 71 homicides have been reported so far this year, according to Philadelphia police data. That's down about 18% from the same time last year, but still averages out to about one person killed per day.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
