Philadelphia top cop vows ‘justice’ following broad daylight attack that left 12-year-old wounded

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Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw vowed justice after separate incidents of broad daylight violence in the city left a 72-year-old stabbed to death and a 12-year-old girl wounded in a drive-by shooting.

Outlaw responded to a string of violent incidents that she said unfolded within minutes of each other on opposite sides of the city on Tuesday.

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"This senseless violence is affecting everyone," the commissioner tweeted. "We will not rest until all responsible are brought to justice!"

As of Tuesday, police statistics show 66 citywide homicides year-to-date, a 6% drop from the 70 murders during the same period last year. The data shows 442 shooting incidents have occurred in the city so far this year, compared to the 455 reported during the same period in 2021.

The 12-year-old girl was wounded in a drive-by shooting as she was walking into a grocery store on the 4600 block of D Street around 4 p.m., according to police.

The 12-year-old was shot once and hospitalized in stable condition, police said. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

Police determined the gunman fired at least seven shots from the backseat of a vehicle, striking the girl once on her right side, FOX29 Philadelphia reported. The girl was rushed to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in stable condition.

Investigators said the suspected vehicle may have been a red Acura with three people inside.

Police said the suspected gunman's vehicle may have been a red Acura with three people inside. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

In a separate broad daylight attack, a 72-year-old woman was stabbed to death on the 2000 block of South Beechwood Street, the station reported. She was allegedly stabbed by her 36-year-old nephew.

A 72-year-old woman was stabbed to death on the 2000 block of South Beechwood Street, the station reported.  (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

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Responding officers located the suspect nearby, still wielding the knife believed to be used in the stabbing, the report said. 

The 72-year-old woman was reportedly the aunt of the suspect believed to have stabbed her, police said. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

He refused to comply with officers’ commands to drop the knife and lunged at the officers, police said. Officers used a Taser, but it failed to stop the suspect and officers fatally shot him.

Outlaw also referred to another shooting in which a 29-year-old woman was shot and in critical condition at a hospital. No update on this victim’s condition was immediately available.