A 21-year-old man was shot point-blank and gravely wounded early Wednesday morning after he answered a knock on his door, according to police. The shooting took place just before 1 a.m. on the 5300 block of Osage Avenue. The man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and it is unknown at this time if he is going to survive.

“He was shot at least two times — once in the head and once in the neck,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10.

Update (1:00 p.m.): Police said that it wasn’t a random shooting. There are no more details available at this point and there is no description of the suspect, who fled the scene after the shooting.

Police are searching for two suspects who robbed the Hualai Chinese restaurant near 51st and Walnut early Monday morning, according to reports. The incident took place at around 1 a.m. when the suspects entered the restaurant, forced the owners – a husband and wife –  to the back of the restaurant, and pistol-whipped both of them. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in a black car.

The restaurant owners were taken to the hospital and are listed in stable condition, CBS Philly reports. No more details and no surveillance video are available at this time. We’ll update when we have more information.

UPDATE (1/3/14): Police have released surveillance video of the suspect and are asking for public’s assistance in identifying him. On the video, a medium built male wearing dark clothing, possibly a jacket, can be seen picking up a brick from a nearby dumpster and smashing the front door at Fiesta Pizza (45th and Baltimore). Then, the suspect can be seen riding a bike near the Mill Creek Tavern at 42nd and Chester and then breaking in and burglarizing it.

If you have any information about these crimes or the suspect, please contact the Southwest Detectives Division at 215-686-3183/3184. You can also submit a tip by calling 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.

1/2/14: Police are searching for a person who has been breaking into local businesses through smashed doors or windows and burglarizing them. Three more incidents have been reported since West Philly Local‘s post about the Green Line Cafe burglary on December 23. The Mill Creek Tavern, located at 42nd and Chester Ave, and Best House Pizza at 43rd and Baltimore were burglarized shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to police. The front window was also smashed and a register was stolen at Fiesta Pizza, located at 4518 Baltimore Ave, on Christmas Day.

Two businesses, Rx The Farmacy and Cafe Saigon, were burglarized in a similar manner in August, 2013. The burglary pattern is very similar in all the cases, with the perpetrator using a brick to smash windows and stealing registers or cash from them, according to police.

There are few details on the suspect. Police are working on the release of surveillance video and describe the suspect as a black male dressed in black and riding a bike. The burglar usually hits between 3 and 5:30 a.m. 

The Green Line Cafe located at 43rd and Baltimore was broken into and burglarized over the weekend, according to police. The burglar or burglars smashed the front window with a brick and stole a cash register. The burglary happened some time between Friday at 11:30 p.m. and Saturday morning at around 8:30 a.m.

The cash register contained approximately $300, according to a police report.

In August, West Philly Local reported about similar break-ins at Pho & Cafe Saigon and RX the Farmacy. In both of these cases, a brick was used to smash the front door or windows and cash was stolen. Police are still investigating those.

Updated with details at 12:57 p.m.

Police caught two men yesterday after a report of a gunpoint robbery at 45th and Pine. The robbery took place around 5:20 p.m., according to police, and the victim was also pistol-whipped. The police arrived quickly after the incident was reported, chased and caught both men. One of them was armed with a gun, according to a tweet by officer Joe Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) of the Southwest Police Detectives.

The victim, a 41-year-old male, said he was walking down the 4500 block of Pine Street, stopped at his mother’s house and pulled out his cell phone, according to a police report. He said two males approached him and when he looked down again at his cell phone, he felt an object strike him in the side of the head. He fell to the ground, looked up and saw one man holding a gun. One suspect said “Take the phone” to other, the victim told police.

The victim quickly ran into his mother’s home and called police. After a brief foot pursuit, police apprehended one of the suspects near 47th and Spruce. He had a 25-caliber handgun. The other suspect was captured on the 4600 block of Spruce Street. The victim identified the suspects, both of whom were 17 years old, according to a police report.

The victim received five stitches at Mercy Hospital and was released.

The woman convicted in the vicious abuse of a 3-year-old boy who died in 2011 was sentenced to 28-and-a-half to 57 years in prison yesterday.

Jaquinn Brewton (Photo from Faces of Angels Blog).

Nadera Watson, 25, lived with 3-year-old Jaquinn Brewton in an apartment at 49th and Chestnut. Paramedics were called to the apartment in June 2011 and found Brewton, who was developmentally delayed and was Watson’s godson, unconscious. Watson told police that he had fallen down a flight of stairs, but the investigation that followed revealed a pattern of methodical abuse involving boiling liquid, a blowtorch and periodic beatings. Jaquinn’s mother left the toddler in Watson’s care when she moved into a homeless shelter with her five other children.

The case was so horrific that it shook up long-time social workers and prompted an investigation into the Department of Human Services’ handling of the case. The Department of Public Welfare report on Jaquinn’s death is here. According to the report, Human Services “missed several monthly visits” to the child. The report alleges that timely visits “could have uncovered the abuse that was occurring in the home.”

Watson was convicted of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and child endangerment charges. Watson’s boyfriend, Marcus King, pleaded guilty to third degree murder in August and was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison.