Upper Darby forms task force to tackle violence
UPPER DARBY » After four shootings occurred from mid-June to mid-July, three of them fatal, Upper Darby leaders are taking action to try to curb violence in the township.
Upper Darby Mayor Tom Micozzie announced Thursday a collaboration with elected officials, community leaders and clergy members to help township communities affected by violence.
“This group will work together to come up with strategies and resources to address violence in our communities, assist in communicating with residents, and identify and utilize external resources to provide guidance in coping skills and crime prevention,” read a statement released by Micozzie. “Elected officials, clergy, and leaders in the community can provide direction on these issues, but this is a problem we cannot solve on our own.
“We need all residents to be come together and be involved in making the changes we all want to see in our communities to combat this senseless violence.”
According to Micozzie, some of the group members include Upper Darby Township Council President Don Bonnett, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood, the Township Multi-Cultural Commission and the offices of state Rep. Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby, state Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, D-1 of Philadelphia.
They will collectively be trying to formulate goals to foster strong community leadership, neighborhood engagement and crime prevention to combat the violent activity.
This all comes from a recent string of gun violence that started near midnight on June 15 when Oscar Seth-Murray allegedly shot and injured with one bullet a 23-year-old and a 16-yearold at a Chinese restaurant in the 700 block of Garrett Road. Seth-Murray turned himself into police on July 3 to answer to 11 counts for the shooting. Timothy Dwayne Price Jr. is also wanted from that same incident for shooting at SethMurray as he fled the restaurant that night. Price has yet to be apprehended by police.
On June 27, 20-year-old Tyree Wilson was found shot to death in the street at the intersection of Bradford Road and Long Lane.
Ten days after Wilson’s murder, 17-year-old Armand Fennell was shot to death in the 500 block of Glendale Road after a supposed argument between he and some other guests at a house party on the block.
Early in the morning on July 13, 43-year-old Eric Lawson was shot to death getting into his car on the first block of Ludlow Street. Chitwood called this a “hit” considering there were 14 shots fired at Lawson in his 2018 Bentley and he was not robbed of the approximately $3,000 that was found on him.
As of July 20, there have been no arrests in any of these cases save for volunteer surrender Seth-Murray. Chitwood confirmed Friday there is a person of interest in the shooting of Fennell, but the investigation in that case, and the others, continue.
“There is no nexus between all three shootings,” said Micozzie when reached for comment on Friday. “What concerns me is the closeness of the incidents. We had great statistics on safety last year with one (murder), we have three this year. What can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?”
Chitwood said he is as concerned about the increase in violence as Micozzie.
“There are a lot of Godfearing, hard-working people that live in Upper Darby that send their kids to schools in Upper Darby, and these thugs, even though the number is small, the problems they create are huge,” he said. “These thugs are taking it away. The community needs to step up and work with the police and the police with the community.”
When asked on Tuesday about a vigil held for Fennell, Davidson, too, said that if a person feels they are being encircled in a dangerous situation to tell an adult they trust to get help.
“You can’t stop a bullet,” Davidson said.
Within the first six months of the 2018 Upper Darby police confiscated 116 firearms, 55 of them involved in criminal activities.
“That’s crazy!” Chitwood exclaimed. “When you look at the numbers of guns in violent crime, that’s something we have to investigate in each one.”
Micozzie and the group of community activists will be hosting a forum for residents in early September to provide an update on positive initiatives they are working on.
“This group will work together to come up with strategies and resources to address violence in our communities, assist in communicating with residents, and identify and utilize external resources to provide guidance in coping skills and crime prevention.” — Statement released by Upper Darby Mayor Tom Micozzie