Suspect identified, wanted after 3 women shot on SEPTA bus in West Philadelphia, police say
Three women were hospitalized after a group of males opened fire at the Route G bus in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, SEPTA said.
Philadelphia Police said the triple shooting happened at South 57th Street and Catharine Street a little after 4:30 p.m.
On Saturday, police released a photo and identified a suspect involved in the shooting. The suspect was identified as 18-year-old Raphael Ezeamaka of Darby, Pennsylvania.
Police said Ezeamaka is wanted on charges of aggravated assault, violation of the Uniform Firearms Act and other related offenses. Ezeamaka is known to frequent Southwest, West and South Philly neighborhoods, according to police.
The three women who were shot are in stable condition, according to police.
Police said a 29-year-old woman was shot once in the hip, a 60-year-old woman suffered a graze wound on the right side of her head and a 56-year-old woman was shot in her lower back.
Chief Inspector Scott Small said three males, possibly juveniles, got on the SEPTA bus in South Philadelphia on Oregon Avenue and spoke with the bus driver.
"We believe they were all struck by stray gunfire," Small said about those who were injured. "The bus was so crowded."
Small said they didn't pay the fare, according to the bus driver, and walked to the back of the bus. He added the three males got off the bus at 57th and Catharine streets and fired four shots into the bus.
The suspected shooter and the two people with him fled on foot.
"I just remember there being blood and it getting wiped away, and it was just a lot," said one woman who was on the bus at the time of the shooting.
Small said the SEPTA bus was filled with more than 50 passengers. The bus traveled six blocks and stopped at 57th Street and Larchwood Avenue, where passengers got off and fled. That's when police responded and rushed the victims to the hospital.
The 29-year-old woman was with her son, who Small said was about 6 or 7 years old, but he wasn't struck by gunfire.
"Lucky there weren't additional shooting victims," Small said.
It's unclear what led to the shooting.
Riders are concerned about the safety of SEPTA after the shooting.
"I make sure I always sit where I can have a full view of everything that's going on, and if I feel uncomfortable, I just get off the bus," Quaintella Asberry said.
But for Asberry and so many other people who use public transportation, they have no other choice but to use public transportation.
Now, she's calling for change, saying the shooting could've been worse.
"Something has to be done," Asberry said.
Anyone with information about this shooting is urged to call the Philadelphia Police Department's Shooting Investigations Group at 215-686-8270 or call/text the PPD tipline at 215-686-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can remain anonymous.