Philadelphia Police Commissioner Says Department Has Its ‘Foot on the Gas’ as City Records 364 Homicides

On Tuesday morning, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw stood with other police brass, a day after this year’s homicide rate in the city surpassed the entirety of last year’s.

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Deputy Commissioner Ben Nash pointed out a surge in violence in other large cities around the country.

“Does it have to do with groups? Does it have to do with people having a sense of desperation? Does it have to do with the COVID crisis? The pandemic? I think all of those are factors,” Nash surmised.

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As Philadelphia continues to combat alarming gun violence, 2020 is now the city’s deadliest year since 2007, and there are three months still to go.

As of Tuesday morning, the city has recorded at least 364 homicides. That number has already surpassed last year’s homicide total of 356 and on pace to eclipse 391 homicides in 2007.

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The latest deadly incident occurred around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday in Southwest Philadelphia. Police said a person opened fire on a 19-year-old man who was standing inside a takeout restaurant.

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Around 1 p.m. Monday, gunfire erupted in the parking lot of a Lowe’s in South Philadelphia. Police say a 21-year-old man was shot nine times throughout his body and later died at the hospital.

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The shooting outside Lowe’s came less than 24 hours after a 15-year-old was shot in the head on Sunday night. He died at the hospital.

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The gunfire continued throughout Monday. Here’s a recap of some of those deadly shooting incidents:

South Corlies Street shooting

Police said a 27-year-old man was shot in the head on the 1800 block of South Corlies Street around 2 p.m. He later died at the hospital.

Fanshawe Street shooting

Police said a 22-year-old man was shot dead around 5:11 p.m. on the 1300 block of Fanshawe Street. He died at the scene.

North Lambert Street double homicide

Police said two people were found dead inside a home on the 6500 block of N. Lambert Street around 6:30 p.m.

According to authorities, a 48-year-old woman was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the head in the living room of the home and a 29-year-old man was found shot in the basement. Both victims died at the hospital.

Brill Street homicide

Around 6:43 p.m., police said a man in his 20s was shot in the back of the head on the 800 block of Brill Street. Police said the victim died at the hospital.

No arrests have been made in connection with these shootings. {snip}