Teddy bears and candles remain near the spot where Zykia Sanders was killed early Saturday. (Photo by Mike Lyons)

Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who murdered 22-year-old student Zykia Sanders early Saturday morning at the West Park Apartments near 44th and Market streets.

Sanders was leaving a party with a small group of people at a high-rise building when two people in a four-door sedan fired at the crowd. A bullet struck Sanders in the back as she ran from the shooter.

Police believe Sanders, who lived at West Park with her grandmother, was not the intended target of the shooting. She was a student at The University of Phoenix and planned to graduate in June.

Police are urging anyone with information to call  215-686-3334 or 3335.

Zykia Sanders.

The Clark Park Farmers’ Market (43rd & Baltimore) will be open on Wednesday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to cater to your Thanksgiving shopping needs. Expect the following farms and products:

Quaff Meadows: Fresh vegetables and pre-order turkeys
Big Sky Bakery: Pre-order apple and pumpkin pies and fresh breads
Homestead Garden: Fresh vegetables and herbs
Frecon Farm: Fresh fruit and apple cider
Primordia: Mushrooms
Eden Garden: Pre-order cider and apples

Source: University City District

Love Your Park Day at Barkan Park, 50th & Spruce, took place on Saturday, Nov. 17, with 25 volunteers, including five AKA sorority sisters (above) from Penn and Drexel who heard about the event through West Philly Local. Neighborhood volunteers planted two new dogwood trees and nearly 550 spring bulbs, as well as raked leaves and cleaned up debris from Hurricane Sandy to prepare the park for the winter ahead.

Many thanks to Mark Mendenhall/Garden Court Community Association for submitting this information.

Philly.com has reported that a middle-aged woman was abducted along the 5000 block of Irving Street, taken to an unidentified and sexually assaulted. Police have confirmed the report.

Police said the woman is 48 years old and was abducted at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. She was released after the sexual assault.

View Abduction and assault in a larger map

A 22-year-old woman, identified as Zykia Sanders, was shot in the back and killed near 45th and Market streets outside of West Park Apartments early Saturday morning, police said. The victim was found on the sidewalk and transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead at about 2:30 a.m. No arrests have been made.

Police believe that Sanders was hit by a stray bullet during an argument. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 215-686-3334.

Source: Philly.com

Join local community groups this Saturday (Nov. 17) for Love Your Park Day and help prep neighborhood parks for the winter. Here’s how and where you can help:

• Clark Park (43rd and Chester) – Friends of Clark Park will be raking leaves, spreading mulch, weeding, and picking up trash. Meet at the green and white shed on 45th St. between Chester and Woodland Aves. at 9:00 a.m., or just stop by when you can. RSVP here.
• Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine) – Friends of Malcolm X Park (Facebook page) will be doing some cleaning, bulb-planting, and leaf-raking in the park. Tools and refreshments provided. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. For more information contact Greg Cojulun at 215-748-5329.
• Barkan Park (50th and Spruce) – Barkan Park cleanup is scheduled between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. For more information contact Mark Mendenhall at 215-476-2983.

If you know of other clean-ups, please let us know in the comments.