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Police: 2 dead, 4 wounded in North Philadelphia drive-by shooting

Published  August 10, 2018 7:21am EDT
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Police say two people have died and four people have been wounded in a shooting at 12th and West Huntington in North Philadelphia. Surveillance video of the incident was captured by a corner store camera.

It happened around 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Tiesha Cooper fought back tears as she spoke about her sister Niesha Cooper who was gunned down Wednesday night in a drive-by shooting carried out with an assault weapon.

"I don't even know where to go from here. I mean this is sad," Cooper told reporters at the crime scene."My sister was a 32-year-old woman with two kids with a heart of gold."

Tiesha and family members gathered at the murder scene Thursday, lighting candles and washing away the blood. Tiesha wondered how to explain this to Niehsa's children.

"I don't even know what I'm gonna tell to her 9- year-old son, her 13-year-old daughter," she said.

Police say it was just before 10 p.m. when a van turned onto the block and a gunman fired at least 12 shots into the crowd on the corner. Six people were shot. Niesha and local rapper Averill Davenport, who goes by the name General Reezy were killed.

"He sprayed the corner with gunfire what we believe to be an AK-47 or one of its derivatives," Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit Captain John Ryan said at a mid-day press conference .

"It's horrible that you can't even sit in the neighborhood that you grow up in and not worry about somebody just coming and shooting it up," Tiesha Cooper said.

Philly rapper Meek Mill remembered Davenport in an Instagram post.

Sources say police are investigating if this double murder shooting is retaliation for last weeks shooting and murder at a nearby rec center.

"Right now, the motive for us is not clear. It may be tied to other things in the neighborhood," Captain Ryan said.

"They didn't care that it was women, kids--they didn't care who it was," Tiesha added.

Police say Davenport had a significant past criminal record. Investigators are still looking for that van, the driver and the shooter. Captain Ryan said more people could have been shot by bullets that traveled through cars and into homes. One of the victims remains in critical condition.