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Crime Watch

A woman critically injured in hit-and-run near 38th and Spruce (updated)

October 11, 2013

SurveillancevideoUPDATE (4:30 p.m.): Police are looking for the driver of a vehicle that struck a 22-year-old woman near 38th and Spruce Streets, leaving the victim seriously injured. The woman was riding her bike east on Spruce Street when she suddenly fell. While she was attempting to stand up, she was struck by a car going west on Spruce Street, according to police. The woman sustained severe head injuries and was taken to the hospital, where she is listed in critical condition.

Here’s the description of the vehicle provided by police:

Dark colored four (4) door sedan with a light colored plate on the front possibly out of state or a vanity plate. Vehicle may have possible damage to the left front fender and or bumper.

The police also released surveillance video of the incident where you can see the woman riding her bike on Spruce Street and then being struck by a dark-colored vehicle:

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police. You can submit a tip via telephone (dial 215.686.TIPS (8477)) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.

EARLIER: A young woman riding her bike was struck by a car Thursday evening on Spruce Street between 38th and 39th Streets, according to a West Philly Local reader report. The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. and the car drove off after striking the woman. Witnesses said that it was a black or dark convertible. A few people attended to the victim, who was “responsive but very little” while waiting for the ambulance.

We’re trying to get more information about the incident and the condition of the victim.

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Candlelight vigil tonight for Devin Hatch, a 23-year-old man shot and killed at 54th and Florence

October 8, 2013

ripdevAs we reported earlier, a 23-year-old man was shot multiple times and killed at the intersection of 54th Street and Florence Avenue on Sunday night. Police identified the man as Devin Hatch, who lived on the 5600 block of Florence Avenue. Five other men were wounded in the shooting, one critically. A crowd of people was outside Los Papi Deli & Grocery at 54th Street and Florence Avenue around 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, when a group of four to five gunmen walked up to the corner and opened fire, according to reports.

Devin’s friends and neighbors took to social media to express their grief (#ripdev). According to several tweets, a candlelight vigil for Devin will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the scene of the shooting at 54th and Florence.

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Six men shot at 54th and Florence on Sunday; one killed, one in critical condition

October 7, 2013

Police are investigating a multiple shooting that left one dead and several wounded at the intersection of 54th Street and Florence Avenue. Six young men, from 18 to 23 years old, were shot on Sunday, around 7 p.m. One person was killed and one critically injured, 6ABC reports. Four other victims are in stable condition. Police say that the young man who was killed lived on Florence Avenue, just a few blocks away from the scene of the shooting. He was shot multiple times in the back and chest, according to ABC. There were about 50 shell casings found at the scene.

Police said that it doesn’t appear to be a drive-by shooting, but a car was apparently involved. No other details are available at this time as the investigation continues.

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Weekend crimes: electronics stolen in home invasion on 44th Street; car break-in near 48th and Baltimore

September 30, 2013

A couple of crime reports from the weekend:

• A man and a woman were victims of a home invasion on the 200 block of South 44th Street on Saturday evening, Sept 28. Four intruders, two men and two women entered an apartment on the first floor after, locked the victims in the bedroom and ransacked the house, stealing electronic items, including a laptop, iPads and cell phones. One of the victims opened the door when the intruders knocked, NBC Philadelphia reports. The suspects fled through the back door and no injuries were reported.

This home invasion is not a random event, according to Joe Murray of Southwest Police Detectives. “Everyone involved is known to each other,” he told West Philly Local. No other details are available at this time, but Murray said that this crime is not related to the recent home invasion on the 200 block of 50th Street, which, police had said, also wasn’t a random act.

• A West Philly Local reader reports that his car parked in the 48th/49th and Baltimore Ave/Warrington Ave area was broken into on Friday night. “It appears to be someone just looking for money or something quick to sell. Fortunately for us we don’t keep anything in the car of value,” the reader wrote in an email. If you live on that block or in vicinity and your car has also been recently broken into, please let us know or post a comment below.

This neighbor also would like to send a reminder to other residents “to lock up and make sure nothing is visible to a would be stealer.”

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Correction: human chain against gun violence starts at 10:30am on Saturday

September 28, 2013

A man in his 20s is in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania this morning after being shot in the neck near 53rd and Chestnut Streets, a block from where thousands of residents will form a human chain on Saturday in opposition to gun violence.

StopGunViolenceWhile the number of homicides in the city have dropped considerably this year, the drumbeat of shootings rolls on. Some 1,800 shootings have been reported in the city so far this year, according to police statistics. There have been more than 2,000 gunpoint robberies so far this year. That’s why the group Hands Across Philadelphia (Facebook page) is organizing a human chain along 52nd Street on Saturday to bring awareness to the gun violence epidemic.

The chain will include many members from Mothers in Charge, moms whose children have died in acts of gun violence. The idea is to bring everyone in the community together regardless of race, ethnicity or income to highlight a crisis that impacts everyone in the community.

The event begins at noon 10:30 a.m. and the chain will run along 52nd Street between Woodland and Parkside avenues.

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Home ransacked near 50th and Cedar

September 25, 2013

Unfortunately, there has been another breaking and entering incident near 50th street. We reported yesterday about the home invasion on 50th street between Walnut and Locust (read more here), when three armed men wearing masks broke into a home on Tuesday early morning, tied up four people – a man and three women – and stole cash, computers and a car.

A West Philly Local reader reports that her house located on Cedar Avenue between 50th and 51st streets was broken into on Monday night, sometime before midnight, when no one was home. She says that windows were opened with a crowbar and the whole house was ransacked – the thief went through everyone’s drawers and closets.

Two bikes (a green trek hybrid with cruiser handlebars, and a no name road bike with gold and leopard paint) and two computers were stolen (one desktop iMac, one white PowerBook).

According to police, this burglary and the home invasion, which was a targeted attack, are not related.

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