Weekend gunfire sends girl, 13, and 6 others to hospitals

August 17, 2009|By STEPHANIE FARR, farrs@phillynews.com 215-854-4225

A 13-year-old girl who police said was accidentally shot in the chest at a North Philadelphia house party yesterday morning was one of seven people injured by gunfire in the city this weekend.

Despite her injuries, the teen was stabilized at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children yesterday and released by the afternoon, said Sgt. Ray Evers, police spokesman.

An arrest warrant was issued for Terrence Maxwell, 20, of Rosalie Street near Horrocks.

Police said Maxwell, believed to be the shooter, was handling a gun at the party on 11th Street near Tioga about 3:20 a.m. when the gun unintentionally discharged, striking the teen once.

Maxwell fled, and when detectives went to serve a warrant for his arrest on charges including aggravated assault and weapons offenses yesterday morning, he wasn't home, police said.

Authorities could not say who owned the gun, why Maxwell was handling it in the house or why the 13-year-old victim was attending a house party at that hour.

Other incidents of weekend city violence, police said, include:

* At 10:26 p.m. Saturday, a double shooting on Rugby Street near Sharpnack in West Oak Lane left a 34-year-old man in critical condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center with chest and leg wounds.

The second victim, a 27-year-old man who was shot twice in his right leg, was listed as stable at the same hospital.

* At 7:25 p.m. Saturday, a dispute between neighbors on Water Street near Huntingdon Avenue, in Kensington, led to one woman shooting another after two feuding factions confronted each other with baseball bats and golf clubs.

The victim, 32, struck in the torso was taken to Temple University Hospital and listed yesterday in stable condition.

Police said three suspects, whose names were not released, were arrested at the scene. The shooter, believed to be a woman, fired a single shot.

* At 6:24 p.m. Saturday, a triple shooting on Indiana Avenue near B Street in North Philly left two men fighting for their lives.

A 29-year-old man who was shot in his chest and left leg remains in critical condition at Temple as does his companion, a 27-year-old man who was shot in his chest and left shoulder.

A third victim, a 21-year-old man who was shot once in his left leg, remains in stable condition at the same hospital.

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