GunCRisis Reporting: July 1st and the Violence Continues

Shootings leave three men critically wounded overnight in Philadelphia Posted: 01 Jul 2013 09:29 AM PDT Philadelphia Police officers gather at a shooting scene in the Brewerytown section of the city late Sunday night.  Photographs for the Gun Crisis Reporting Project by Tom Kelly IV. Medics rushed the 36-year-old victim to  Hahnemann University Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition after he was shot at about 11:15 p.m. in the area of Cecil B. Moore Avenue and North Dover Street. Officers responded to a 911 call for a “person with a gun” and found the victim lying on the steps of a residence, according to a report at philly.com. 6ABCreported that he had been shot twice. Slideshow: Police investigate Brewerytown shooting scene. Photographs by Tom Kelly IV. TKSS1 Staff photos by Tom Kelly IV A man was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the 1700 block of N. Dover Street in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia, late Sunday night June 30, 2013. The man was apparently shot near the intersection of Cecil B. Moore Ave. and N. 29th Street, before he walked half way up Dover Street, where he collapsed on the front steps of a home. He was taken by Philly Medics to Temple hospital. TKSS6 Medics rushed a man to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after he was shot early Monday on South Frazier Street near Chester Avenue in the Kingsessing section of Southwest Philadelphia. According to philly.com, police responded to a 911 call of “shots fired”  at 1:52 a.m. and found the victim lying face down on the sidewalk, unresponsive and bleeding heavily. 6ABC reported that the victim was in critical condition. Slideshow: Police investigate Kingsessing shooting scene. Photographs by Tom Kelly IV. TKSS1 Staff photos by Tom Kelly IV A man was reportedly shot at least once  in the head in the 1600 block of S. Frazier Street in the Kingsessing section  of Southwest Philadelphia early Monday morning, July 1, 2013. The victim  was rushed to HUP in critical condition. TKSS3 Staff photos by Tom Kelly IV A man was reportedly shot at least once in  the head in the 1600 block of S. Frazier Street in the Kingsessing section  of Southwest Philadelphia early Monday morning, July 1, 2013. The  victim was rushed to HUP in critical condition. Another man was critically wounded after a shooting on North 46th Street near Westminster Avenue in West Philadelphia at around 6 p.m. Sunday, according to 6ABC. If you want to get involved in gun violence reduction in Philadelphia, please consider volunteering your time or making a donation to one of the organizations listed under our Network tab at the top of this site. If you would like us to add your group to our list, please email us at info@guncrisis.org. Related posts: Shootings leave one dead, one critically wounded, just hours apart on the same block in North Philadelphia Shooters kill one man and leave two critically wounded after overnight shooting incidents across Philadelphia Three men critically wounded after separate overnight shooting incidents across Philadelphia

Homicides drop sharply in Philadelphia and New York, but unequal rates persist Posted: 01 Jul 2013 07:20 AM PDT Philadelphia may be within reach of a “modern-day low” for homicides at the end of 2013, according to Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, which reported that 115 victims confirmed so far this year represent “the lowest midyear total in nearly half a century.” Police investigate a fatal shooting in Philadelphia. Reports say the the victim was responding to an online ad to buy an ATV. Photograph for the Gun Crisis Reporting Project by Joseph Kaczmarek. On Saturday, the New York Times reported a significant drop for the first  half of this year in New York City as well, from 202 to 154. However, census data shows that New York City — while suffering 39 more homicides than Philadelphia this year — is also home to nearly 5.5 times as many people. In other words, if Philadelphia’s 2013 homicide rate was on pace with New York City, only 28 people would have been killed so far. Had New York City suffered at Philadelphia’s rate, they would have counted 649 murder victims by now. For instance, the New York Daily News shouted “Mayhem” earlier this month when 25 people were shot across the city in 48 hours. But per capita,almost four times as many people were shot in Philadelphia during the same period. The year-to-date progress in Philadelphia remains remarkable and the Inquirer cites numerous city reforms — including the recently acclaimed GunStat program — but other factors may be in play as well. During his “State of Crime in Philadelphia,” address last fall, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams attributed last year’s ten percent increase in Philadelphia homicides to the “ecology of crime,” citing the unusually warm weather in January 2012 — when the city suffered an unusually high rate of more than one murder per day. Weather may have been a factor this year as well, as we noted earlier this spring when Phillyweather.net reported below-average temperatures in February, the coldest March since 2005, and the coolest start to April since 1992. When the weather improved this May, we counted 131 shooting victims across the city, the highest monthly total we have seen since launching the Gun Crisis Reporting Project. Forty people were shot in the first ten days of June, but we are anticipating a strong month-to-month reduction — with fewer than 100 victims reported as we approach the end of the month. At the same time, Philadelphia is coming out of the wettest June on record. Evidence markers litter the crime scene where a man was shot and killed last week in Philadelphia. Photographs for the Gun Crisis Reporting Project by Joseph Kaczmarek. The Gun Crisis Reporting Project is an award-winning, independent, nonprofit journalism community striving to illuminate the epidemic of homicide by gunfire in Philadelphia — and to find solutions. But we need your help. Click to see how your tax-deductible contribution can support our volunteer staff. Related posts: New York responds to violent weekend while Philadelphia suffers four times over Grim milestone: Philadelphia surpasses 300 homicides in 2012 Mapped: 3,084 homicides in Philadelphia from January 1, 2006 through yesterday