3 July 4 shootings in Chester bring the toll to 85
3 shooting incidents bring 2018 tally to 85
CHESTER » A 19-year-old woman and her 4-year-old child were wounded in a shooting – one of three shooting incidents Wednesday that are under investigation by Chester police. The mother and child were walking in the 1100 block of Thomas Street when shots apparently rang out from a tan sport utility vehicle, possibly a Chevrolet or GMC product, shortly after 3:30 p.m. The mother was hit in the shoulder; while the child was grazed in the head, according to police Chief James Nolan IV.
An 18-year-old Swarthmore man who was in the area suffered a gunshot wound to his forearm.
Investigators do not believe the victims, who were not together at the time of shooting, were the intended targets, Nolan said.
“It seems there were several people in the street at the time,” Nolan said. “It’s a summer day, in a dense neighborhood.”
An investigation is continuing by city Detective Brian Pot. Anyone with information is asked to contact Pot at 610447-8431.
Two other shootings occurred about 15 minutes apart in the 1200 block of Beverly Lane and the 1200 block of Grace Street, which are located within blocks of each other.
According to Nolan, city Officer Melissa Goodman was at Ninth and Tilghman streets when a silver Cadillac drove by at a high rate of speed. When the officer stopped the vehicle, the driver informed her that he was on his way to Crozer-Chester Medical Center with a shooting victim.
That victim, identified by Nolan as a 20-year-old Boothwyn woman, later told authorities that she was watching fireworks in the 1200 block of Beverly Lane, about 9:30 p.m.
“The next thing she knew she was shot in the foot,” Nolan said, citing a report.
The victim and her boyfriend, who was uninjured, were standing in front of a residence in the 1200 block of Beverly Lane, Nolan said. Investigators believe the shots were fired from the area of 12th Street and Highland Avenue. Police found five bullet holes in a privacy fence in the rear of a residence in the 1200 block of Beverly Lane.
According to Nolan, city police Capt. Ellan Morgan was in the area of 12th and Grace streets when she was stopped by a man who said he had been shot in the back, about 9:45 p.m.
The victim was conscious, alert, and holding a pair of jumper cables, Nolan said, citing reports by city Officers William Carey and Terrance Taylor.
According to reports, the victim was trying to start a car when he was shot, Nolan said.
An investigation into both of those shootings is continuing by city Detective Rhaheem Blanden. Anyone with information is asked to contact Blanden at 610-4478420.
Including the three latest incidents, the city has recorded a total of 85 shootings this year, according to Nolan. Of the 85 shootings, nine resulted in a fatality, he said.
This time last year, the city also recorded 85 shootings as of July 4, 2017, Nolan said. Of those, 17 were fatal, he noted.
“It’s our intention to lower those numbers. As we move on, and hire more people, we will be employing some different strategies. We are definitely working on it,” Nolan said, declining to elaborate.