In North Philadelphia on Thursday, three gunshot victims sought treatment at Temple University Hospital. This happened moments after they became the targets of a drive-by shooting right outside the hospital.
The incident took place around 12:30 a.m. About forty shots were fired in the direction of the hospital’s emergency room entrance, causing notable damage to the doors and glass at the rear ER access point.
Philadelphia and Temple law enforcement officers swiftly responded to the unsettling incident, discovering three men suffering from various gunshot injuries. An 18-year-old had sustained a gunshot wound to his hand, while a 22-year-old had been shot in the knee.
The third and most severely wounded victim, a 25-year-old man, had been hit in the face, back, and arm. Inspector Small revealed that each of the victims had only to travel a short distance to reach Temple’s emergency room, where they are now reported to be in stable condition.
The vicinity of the hospital was quickly cordoned off by the police, who cataloged dozens of pieces of evidence from the scene.
At least three individuals opened fire with semi-automatic weapons from a dark-colored, four-door sedan moving eastward on Germantown Avenue. Furthermore, information gathered at the scene suggested that one of the shooters may have exited the vehicle to execute the attack, added Inspector Small.
At this stage, the motive behind this audacious triple shooting remains uncertain. Early testimonies indicate that the victims were not armed and did not retaliate.
The Philadelphia Police Department is hopeful that surveillance footage from the scene will provide significant leads in their ongoing investigation.