Woman shot and killed while trying to break up fight in Philadelphia, police say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia Police said a woman was "tragically killed" after she was shot while trying to help break up a fight in the city's Kensington neighborhood early Monday morning.
According to Police Inspector D F Pace, a woman in her mid-to-late 30s was outside a store on the 2500 block of Kensington Avenue when a group of men started getting into an argument just after midnight. When that argument turned physical, Pace said surveillance video showed the victim apparently trying to break up the fight before an unidentified shooter pulled out a gun and fired at least once.
"It appears the victim was an unintended target," Pace said. He explained investigators believe the shooter was aiming at another person involved in the altercation, but it's unclear if that intended target was also shot. "It does appear the victim was attempting to mediate," he said.
The woman was rushed to Temple Hospital where she died shortly after 12:30 a.m., Pace said.
Pace added that officers don't believe there is currently any danger to the public in connection to this case, and that it's common for groups of people gather along the 2500 block of Kensington late into the evening and early morning, especially during the summer.
However, earlier this year the Philadelphia City Council passed a curfew for Kensington that closes many businesses between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Restaurants with liquor licenses are still allowed to operate until 2 a.m.