‘WAR ZONE’
COPS HUNT MAN WHO FIRED SHOTS INTO TOWNSHIP HOME
An Upper Darby street turned into what authorities called a war zone Sunday night when over two dozen shots were fired by “urban terrorists.”
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the department is looking for at least one person for attempted murder charges after 27 bullets rang through the 7700 block of Parkview Road around 8:45 p.m. Sunday.
“As I said before and I’ll say it again, this is true urban terrorism at its finest. Fortunately, nobody got hit,” said Chitwood at a Monday afternoon press conference. “These shooters are bums, they’re animals. There’s no other way to describe it to shoot into a home and let it go is beyond me. It’s hard to believe when I stand here and talk about it.”
According to Chitwood, a dark-colored Nissan Altima arrived outside of a residence on Parkview Road in the township’s Highland Park section. Closed-circuit TV footage provided to police show’s a person coming out of the front passenger seat, wearing a mask over his face and wielding what likes like a semi-automatic gun with an extended clip.
This person fired 21 shots at 7771 Parkview, and then at random along the block, hitting a house in the 7800 block of Parkview and a gas meter at 7771.
“When you fire a gun, that bullet goes somewhere,” said Chitwood about the masked shooter. “Where that bullet goes, who it hits, who it doesn’t hit, it’s going to go somewhere. He didn’t care.”
One of the bullets hit a gas line in 7771 which prompted immediate response by Upper Darby Fire Department and PECO to fix any potential hazard.
After the first 21 shots were fired, a resident at 7771 fired six shots off of his own from the vicinity of the residence. Chitwood said these shots may have come from a semi-automatic gun.
Chitwood was certain that 7771 was the target house, but could not describe
any connection between the two shooters. He said the resident is known to law enforcement for past offenses.
A search of the property provided police with nothing of evidentiary value.
The house, though, was
then condemned for being uninhabitable and its five occupants were removed from the premises.
Witnesses have been helpful with the investigation, but not the people living at 7771 who have been, “hostile, to say the least,” according to Chitwood.
“You’re living in an area where there are homes and children and these bums come and they just arbitrarily shoot,” said Chitwood, noting what reckless gun violence does in Philadelphia when innocent bystanders become victims. “We’re no different, it could happen here in Upper Darby. That’s what I don’t want.
“Obviously, the people in 7771 know what’s happening. There’s no doubt in my mind they know what’s happening.”
This is still an active investigation for police. Anyone with tips in identifying the masked shooter is asked to call Upper Darby Police at 610-734-3439.