UPDATE (April 10, 12:43 p.m.) Two men have been charged in the shootings that resulted in the lengthy shutdown of the 40th Street trolley portal late yesterday afternoon. A witness who was sitting in a South Philly park told police he heard several gunshots and saw two vehicles parked side by side near 25th and Wolf streets. The vehicles then fled in opposite directions. One vehicle was found at 40th and Woodland, near the trolley portal, with several bullet holes. A passenger in the car had been taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is listed in stable condition. That person, a 22-year-old man, is under police guard at the hospital and faces firearms and other charges. A second man, 26 years of age, who police say was in the other vehicle was also apprehended and faces similar charges.

UPDATE (8:30 p.m.): Trolley service resumed around 7 p.m. with residual delays. There are conflicting reports about where the shooting took place. A car with bullet holes was found near the portal, and the driver was taken to the hospital. We’ll update when we have more information.

Several trolley lines were diverted at about 5 p.m. following a shooting near the trolley portal at 40th Street and Baltimore Avenue, according to police.

Philly.com is reporting that an argument between two motorists near 25th and Wolf streets in South Philadelphia ended in gunfire in West Philadelphia at the trolley portal. One person was reportedly injured and has been taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Trolley lines 11, 13, 34 and 36 in both directions have been diverted.

Just recently we reported a high number of car break-ins in the Cedar Park area and vicinity. On Friday, April 3, undercover cops from the 18th Police District arrested a man who was breaking into a van parked near 47th and Larchwood. The incident happened at around 12:45 p.m., according to a tweet by Joe Murray of the Southwest Detectives.

When the unidentified man was brought in for questioning he confessed to 10 more thefts from vehicles. The man has 26 prior arrests, including 16 for burglary and theft, according to Murray.

It is not known yet which car break-ins this person had a hand in. Over the past month, there have been at least 15 thefts from vehicles reported in the area between S. 48th and 51st Streets and Spruce St. and Baltimore Ave., according to Crime Reports. Also there were four car break-ins just south of Baltimore Ave between 46th and 48th.

UPDATE (9:35 p.m.): The 29-year-old woman was shot to death several weeks ago, but her body wasn’t discovered until this morning, according to police. Several people live in separate bedrooms in the boarding house, according to reports. The woman’s body was found in the first-floor living room under a mattress or blanket, and there was a foul smell in the house, according to police. Police also discovered the crime scene in one of the 3rd floor bedrooms where they believe the shooting took place. The investigation continues.

9:54 a.m.: Police are investigating a homicide on the 5100 block of Spruce Street. They say a woman’s body was found this morning, shortly before 7 a.m., inside a boarding house. Police say the woman lived in the boarding house with her boyfriend, and that she was probably killed a few days ago.

Here’s a reminder to all not to leave any valuables in your parked car. Several car break-ins have been reported on Hazel Avenue near 51st Street and in the Cedar Park area in the past several days. Some of these reports came from our readers who wanted to alert their neighbors. Here’s one of them:

“Just wanted to inform you that there have been a string of car break-ins along 51st street near Hazel Ave. over the last week. My roommate’s car was broken into the night of 3/13, and a GPS device was stolen from her glove compartment. A few days prior, my downstairs neighbor (whose car was parked on 51st St. near Hazel) found that someone broke into his car and stole the bike in the backseat…”

While we were not able to confirm these two break-ins with the police, we found out that there were other break-ins and thefts from cars on Hazel Avenue recently (Source: Crimereports.com): on March 7 on the 4900 block of Hazel; on March 8 on the 5100 block; and on March 10 on the 4800 block. A car parked near the corner of 51st St and Larchwood Ave was also broken into on March 10.

Mary Pitts-Devine. From Linked In.

The 46-year-old woman who was shot eight times Sunday morning by a neighbor who then shot himself remains in “very critical condition” at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, according to police.

Police say that Mary Pitts-Devine had an ongoing dispute with her male neighbor, identified in media reports as 53-year-old Steven Outlaw. They lived in separate apartments at 4530 Spruce Street in a three-story converted twin. Outlaw reportedly lived above Pitts-Devine, an entrepreneur, writer and former social worker.

The dispute culminated in Sunday’s shooting. Police recovered a handgun in Outlaw’s apartment that was registered to him.

Pitts-Devine, a 1997 graduate of LaSalle University, is the CEO and Founder of Prophetic Presentations, an artistic production company that is “speaking to the hearts of mankind via the arts,” according to its website. On the site, she writes that she has “a desire to help those trapped in the social ills of life, such as drug addiction, homelessness, disparity of all kinds, and severe family dysfunction. This burden stemmed from my brokenness I experienced as a child growing up in Foster Care.” On social media platforms, she writes that she is a breast cancer survivor and a kidney transplant recipient.

Neighbors have said that the dispute between her and Outlaw had been ongoing for about two years and that he had accused her of tapping his telephone line.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of Ms. Pitts-Devine. We’ll update with new information when we get it.

– Mike Lyons

UPDATE (8:40 p.m.): The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that there was a history of tension between the man, who lived on the third floor of the three-story building, and the woman, who lived below him on the second floor. The man reportedly confronted the woman in the first floor hallway shortly before 11 a.m. and shot at her 10 times (she was struck eight times). After that he went to his apartment and shot himself.

UPDATE (4:52 p.m.): Police are now reporting that the shooting stemmed from a neighbor dispute over noise. The woman remains in critical condition.

UPDATE (1:10 p.m.): The female victim, 46, was reportedly shot eight times. She and the man who shot her and himself – he is in his 40’s – were taken to the hospital in critical condition. The man died a short time later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, NBC10 reports.

UPDATE (12:20 p.m.): It appears to be an attempted murder-suicide, according to police. Police say that the woman was shot by the man, who then shot and killed himself. The woman is still alive.

UPDATE (11:43 a.m.): A male victim was brought out from a three-story twin home at 4530-32 Spruce Street on a stretcher, and CPR was being administered (pictured). He was put in an ambulance.

A woman was reportedly shot late Sunday morning on the 4500 block of Spruce Street. The shooting happened around 11:10 a.m. She was rushed to the hospital with unknown injuries. The block is currently closed to traffic. Stay tuned for more information.