Philadelphia police release dramatic video of deadly drive-by shooting; gunman sought
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia police have released video of the vehicle being sought in a drive-by shooting that left one person dead and five others injured on Monday afternoon.
The shooting happened just before 2:30 p.m. when police say an unknown suspect opened fire onto a group of people standing outside near Broad Street and Chew Avenue in the city's Fern Rock neighborhood.
Video shows the moment that group ducked for cover as the gunman inside a silver Chrysler 300 unleashed a barrage of bullets.
Police say 26-year-old Steven Jones was killed in the shooting. The five other victims were between the ages of 19 to 28 years old and were rushed to area hospitals and placed in stable condition.
WPVI-TV's Chopper 6 was overhead as police cordoned off the crime scene where at least 24 shots were fired.
On Tuesday, friends of Jones began creating a memorial at the scene with balloons spelling his name and cards attached to the wall for people to sign for his family.
Some of the additional shooting victims who have been released from the hospital also came to pay their respects.
"He was well-loved, well-respected, and well-appreciated," said friend Mekka Williams. "We've got three kids to take care of, three educations to take care of."
According to Deputy Commissioner Joel Dales, the shooter was believed to be in the backseat of the Chrysler 300 with dark-tinted windows when the gunfire rang out.
"The vehicle was traveling eastbound on the 1300 block of West Chew Avenue from Broad (Street) when the shooting occurred," said Dales. "It's a busy area. Thank God that children were not out when the shooting occurred."
The shooting happened one block north of SEPTA's Olney Transportation Center, one of the busiest hubs in the city. Eight people were shot at the transportation center in February.
"This is outrageous!" Councilmember Cindy Bass said of the gun violence. "This should not be happening. And where is our mayor? We need our mayor to engage, act like you care, come on out and see what's happening."
In response to Bass' statements, Mayor Jim Kenney's office said at the time of the shooting he was on a Zoom meeting working to get more funding from the Biden administration to address the root causes of gun violence.
"The mayor has demonstrated a commitment to gun violence, and there is no greater priority for his administration," said the mayor's office in a statement.
To date, Philadelphia has 1,617 shooting victims this year, and 334 of those shootings were fatal.
