3 Killed, 4 Others Shot in Another Day of Violence in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s violent start to the year continued Wednesday with a triple shooting, double shooting, deadly stabbing and the discovery of a dead body.

An unidentified gunman opened fire on two men on the 100 block of North Ruby Street at 4:56 p.m. A man in his 30’s was shot once in the right hip while a second man, also in his 30’s, was shot twice in the chest. Both men were taken to Presbyterian Hospital. One victim is stable while the other is in critical condition.

About 20 minutes later, a gunman opened fire on a 16-year-old boy, 25-year-old man and a 20-year-old man on the 2600 block of Lehigh Avenue.

The 20-year-old man was shot multiple times throughout his body. He was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:54 p.m.

The 16-year-old boy was shot twice in the abdomen while the 25-year-old was shot six times throughout the body. Both of the surviving victims were also taken to Temple and are both in critical condition.

Around the same time of the two shootings, the body of an unidentified man was discovered inside a black duffel bag on the train tracks behind a home on Cobbs Creek Parkway and Angora Terrace in Southwest Philadelphia.

The discovery was made while police were searching for 20-year-old Jimmy Mao, who was last seen in the same area on Dec. 29 of last year. Police have not yet determined if the body is that of Mao’s.

Police are also searching for an acquaintance of Mao’s, a 16-year-old boy who was reported missing by his family on Jan. 11.

Both Mao and the teen are linked to a 17-year-old boy who is considered a person of interest in the stabbing death of his foster mother, a 64-year-old East Germantown woman who was found dead inside her home Wednesday morning.

Wednesday's deadly shooting and stabbing bring the city’s total number of homicides to 21 so far this year. There were seven reported homicides at this time last year, which ultimately saw a total of 356 murders, the highest annual number in Philadelphia since 2007.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has spoken repeatedly on the violent start to 2020, which includes two people killed and four hurt during five shootings on Monday and seven people, including a child and a teen boy, killed in the city over the weekend.

“The other issue is people shooting at people holding children,” Kenney said. “Even organized crime would wait to get you alone. And these guys don’t seem to care. So we have to get those guys off the street and we have to intervene with the young people who are at risk both of being shot and being shooters and trying to intervene in their lives to get them where they need to be.”

New Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has said gun violence will be a top priority in her administration. She takes office next month.

“She’s going to have to implement some of the same things we’re doing now and just do it better and do it more efficiently and more effectively,” Kenney said.

There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence. Further information can be found here.