Four shot in East Mt. Airy
Three men and a 9-year-old girl were wounded on Oct. 6 when a gunman opened fire at the corner of Ross and Montana streets in East Mt. Airy. The shooter unloaded at least five rounds from a semiautomatic handgun shortly before 8:30 p.m., police said.
The girl, who was treated and released from Chestnut Hill Hospital after a bullet grazed her back, was across the street from a group of men playing a game of dice at the time of the shooting, police said.
Two men were treated at and released from Albert Einstein Medical Center. The third was initially treated at Chestnut Hill Hospital for gunshot wounds to the arm and back, then transferred to Temple University Hospital.
The shooter fled in a dark sedan with tinted windows, police said last week.
Representatives from the Police Department's Public Affairs Unit, 14th District and Northwest Detectives could not be reached for further comment at press time.
Vernon Price, 22nd Ward Leader and administrative aide to Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, told the Local the shooting occurred in front of a drug house he boarded up six weeks ago in the wake of another homicide.
Drug-related violence in Mt. Airy has worsened in the last decade, he said. The Local reported in its July 22 edition that the 14th District had already logged 14 homicides since January, one shy of last year's total.
"It's very important for people to understand that this is creeping into our communities," Price said. "For some, it's actually at their doorsteps. We have to get involved."
Working with two anti-violence outreach groups, Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Mothers in Charge, Price said he plans to hold a large-scale vigil in the neighborhood this week. "We have to keep up the vigilance," he said. "The neighbors have to get involved because the police can't do it alone."
A vigil is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Ross and Montana streets. For more information, contact Vernon Price in Councilwoman Miller's office at 215-686-3424.