64-year-old woman with cane shot, killed near her home in Kingsessing
Woman, 64, shot in the back, killed
A 64-year-old woman was shot in the back in her Kingsessing neighborhood and killed, police say.
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police are searching for a lone gunman in the shooting death of a 64-year-old woman in Southwest Philadelphia early Thursday morning.
What we know:
Police rushed to 52nd Street in Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood after hearing multiple gunshots around 2:45 a.m.
Police tape tangled on the sidewalk is all that remained of the early morning investigation of the burst of gunfire that awoke neighbors. Daniel Holmes lives near South 52nd and Greenway Avenue. He told FOX 29, "I heard about 10 shots, boom, boom then it stopped. Boom, boom that was it."
Police report that when the shooting stopped, the woman was found in the street, lying on top of her cane, with multiple gunshot wounds in her back. People living on the block said the victim was known and she struggled.
Woman, 64, shot and killed in Philadelphia neighborhood
Philadelphia police are investigating a homicide after a 64-year-old woman was targeted on the streets of her neighborhood early Thursday morning.
Police report the unidentified victim was rushed to Penn-Presbyterian Hospital where she died.
What they're saying:
Daniel Holmes said, "She was a beautiful person. At one time, she was one of the leading women over at the women’s group at the church, helping people. She just got caught up in her addiction, it got the best of her, that’s all."
Investigators could be seen combing for video while an elderly resident, asking his identity to be hidden, couldn’t understand why this woman was taken. Shielding from the bitter cold in his car, he was asked what he made of her losing her life in that way? He said, "That’s what I would like to know. When I heard the shots, it woke me up and I haven’t been back to sleep."
Block captain Dianna Coleman called police when she heard the crack of gunfire at quarter of three Thursday morning. Coleman hopes for a better day. Standing just yards from where the victim fell, she said, "I’m sorry we lost a resident because of the conditions we’ve been forced to live in. I just hope at some point, systemically, our city does something."
What we don't know:
The motive for the deadly shooting is still unknown, along with the identity of the victim.
Witnesses say a male suspect was seen fleeing the scene, but no description has been released.
Police say cameras in the area are aiding in the investigation.
Dig deeper:
The killing occurred as homicides are dropping in the city, now at 30, down 11 from this time last year. The falling murders didn’t ease the pain for those who recall the victim moving about the block leaning on her cane.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by Philadelphia police.