Philadelphia 'Should Not Be Left To Fend For Itself' After 4 People Killed, 5 Others Injured Monday Night
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia Police identified the man who was killed in Old City during a violent night across the city on Monday night. The victim is 25-year-old Jhalil Shands.
The deadly shooting happened just two blocks from Independence Hall in the heart of Old City, shocking neighbors.
"It's very sad what I'm seeing," Gary Evans said.
Crime scene tape is still left behind in front of the Science History Institute at 3rd and Chestnut Streets in Old City after a deadly shooting that took Shands' life around 9:30 p.m. Monday.
"Everyone has a gun now. It's ridiculous," Evans said.
Officers say Shands was with his girlfriend, walking together when four men were seen getting out of a van, each pulling out guns and firing nearly 30 shots, killing the victim.
The motive remains unclear.
Gun violence also took the lives of three other people in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Police say that includes a 32-year-old man fatally shot during a cookout. He later died.
In North Philadelphia, a man sitting in a car was shot and killed, and a man sitting in a pickup truck in West Philadelphia was fatally shot shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday.
In addition to those deadly shootings Monday night and into early Tuesday morning, police say five other people were shot and injured in shootings that happened in Kensington, Brewerytown and Southwest Philadelphia.
"It's easier to get a gun in Pennsylvania than a driver's license," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
Kenney says his administration is working on what he calls a roadmap to curb gun violence.
"As we roll out of this pandemic and get our systems back in order, the violence will go down and we'll get to some sense of normalcy," Kenney said.
Experts add that getting a real handle on gun violence in America's biggest poorest city comes with a hefty financial cost.
"What we need to do is, we need to spend the money to put programs back in place, where we have violence protection experts, where we have job training," said Charles Gallagher, professor and chair of La Salle University's Departments of Sociology and Criminal Justice. "But these things cost money and the city doesn't have money."
The shooting in Old City also happened feet from Buddakan, a well-known Asian fusion restaurant owned by restauranter Stephen Starr.
In a statement to Eyewitness News, Starr said, "Center City should not be left to fend for itself. The small business owners and entrepreneurs worked valiantly to survive this year. Our leaders must join us and assure protection and safety. Mayor [Ed] Rendell sparked a revolution of pride and hope in our city that lasted decades. We need that 'yes, we can' spirit from our leaders to inspire us. Philadelphia is much better than what is happening right now."
