A neighborhood resident couldn’t believe that the two masked teenagers who were pointing a gun at her last night and demanding her car keys on the 4900 block of Larchwood were serious. Police say the unnamed woman tried to grab the gun thinking it was fake. It wasn’t.

The two young males, who the woman estimated to be between 15 and 18 years old, approached her at about 8:30 p.m. as she got out of her car. When she realized the gun they brandished was real, police added, she stopped resisting. The two teens forced their way into the passenger side of the car and grabbed her handbag, which contained credit cards and cash.

Southwest Detective Joseph Murray, who has gained Twitter fame as the TheFuzz9143, wrote early this morning that attempting to take a robber’s gun is not a good idea.

“Don’t try that,” he wrote. “These kids already don’t know how to handle a gun and it can go off too easily.”

No arrests have been made.

 

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A woman was mugged early Sunday morning near 47th and Chester. She has reported her story on Craigslist and subsequently on some of the neighborhood listservs. We wanted to pass it along here in case anyone found any of her stuff. She asked that her name not be used. She writes:

I was mugged near the corner of 47th and Chester Saturday night/ Sunday morning. Stolen was my beloved vintage coach bag (black) with wallet, phone and personal items. If even just my bag or any of the contents can be recovered I would be so grateful!! A black moleskin planner ( my email is inside front cover), vintage 90’s liz claiborne sunglasses with suede case (they were my mom’s), a faux alligator wallet with ID, etc. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!! A small monetary reward will be yours!

The woman said she later called police and filed a report and added in an e-mail:

I just want to put it out there that the mugger knocked me down from behind, I didn’t see him coming. He ran very fast and with full body force semi-tackled me to the ground taking my bag in one fell swoop. Unfortunately I often come home late with no escort….. I’m in the restaurant business. I try to be as safe as possible but there’s always that one time…. I have been in West Philly for 5 years and love the neighborhood, it’s sad to feel uncomfortable here now. I’m sure I will move on from this soon but my experience has been very violating and emotionally difficult.

Her story prompted a response from resident Stephanie Zeck, who reminded folks that escorts are available:

The number for the university city walking escort is 215.898.9255 – they will meet a person at their location ( with approximately 15-20 minutes notice ) and walk them safely to their destination. after 3am and until 7am, Penn security takes over. I have had GREAT experiences with the escorts … they are kind and helpful, and will absolutely be there when you need them.

If you have any information on the stolen belongings, you can drop the woman a note at the craigslist e-mail address:

comm-zjezh-2375083597 — at — craigslist.org

Police are reporting that an arrest has been made in the late-morning murder of 39-year-old Yvette Saunders, a mother of six who was shot in the chest outside her home near 52nd and Kingsessing on the day before Mother’s Day.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a short, heart-wrenching story about the shooting. The Inquirer‘s Mike Newall reports that Saunders was shot outside her home on the 5200 block of Reinhard Street trying to protect her 18-year-old son, the intended target of the alleged gunman.

Newall reports that Isaac Porterfield, 22, of the 500 block of North Vodges Street, has been charged in the killing. Police say Porterfield turned himself in.

The shooting was a result of a dispute between Porterfield and Saunders’ son, who accused a friend of Porterfield’s of beating up his girlfriend.

Saunders’ son was not hit in the shooting.

Police are searching for three men involved in a shooting at 48th and Kingsessing last night that left two victims in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police say the shooting took place after a red coupe-style vehicle – possibly a Mustang or Toyota – approached two men standing on the northwest corner of 48th and Kingsessing at about 10:45 p.m. The driver exited the car and began arguing with the two men. Two passengers then emerged from the vehicle and opened fire, according to police.

One victim, a 25-year-old male, was shot multiple times in the lower back and was listed in critical condition at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). A second victim, an unidentified male, was shot three times in the lower abdomen and once in the leg. He is also listed in critical condition at HUP.

Police spokeswoman Christine O’Brien said the driver was a black male, mid 30s to early 40s, approximately 6-foot-1 and wearing a white t-shirt with a yellow triangle on the upper left. The other two suspects were described as black males, mid 20s, wearing black t-shirts with white t-shirts underneath and dark pants.

The vehicle fled westbound on Kingsessing following the shooting.

 

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When a handful of West Philly residents sat down for a chat with a local police officer at the Calvary Center recently, little did they know that their tip would lead to an undercover operation that caught an alleged neighborhood package thief red handed.

A resident who lives near 45th and Regent told Lt. Brian McBride during a routine monthly meeting last Thursday that he found a package addressed to his wife that they had never received at a local thrift store. The next day McBride deployed plainclothes officers to the area. They arrested a man near 43rd and Larchwood after observing him remove packages from two doorsteps.

McBride, who works out of the 18th Police District’s University City Division, would not comment on the details of the operation.

McBride meets with residents every third Thursday of the month at the Calvary Center.

The resident who originally reported finding a package at a thrift store stressed that it was not The Second Mile.

Police are still searching for the person who shot a 25-year-old man  near the corner of 51st and Irving (see map below) Monday night. Police were called to the scene at about 9 p.m. to find Leon McMillan, 27, shot twice in the chest. He later died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. McMillan lived a block away onn the 5100 block of Locust

The fatal shooting is the second in two days in West Philadelphia. Eighteen-year-old Jarell Seay was shot on the front porch of his home on the 1300 block of N. 55th Street on Sunday. No arrests have been made in the shooting. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a story yesterday about Seay’s parents’ struggle with their son’s death.

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