Woman killed after being struck by stray bullet at barbecue in Frankford: police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A barbecue in Philadelphia's Frankford section turned tragic Wednesday night. A woman was killed by a stray bullet that was fired during a drive-by shooting.
Police say the victim was simply hanging out with friends, grilling, and listening to music.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were no arrests in this case.
Neighbors say the victim recently moved out of the city with her boyfriend but she was here Tuesday to get her car fixed and then go over to hang out with friends and she brought her children to that barbecue.
New surveillance video obtained by CBS3 shows the scary moments when a silver car races up the 1800 block of Harrison Street in Frankford as a shooter fires at a group of people standing on the corner.
It's still unclear why, but police say it happened around 8:15 p.m.
Police say 29-year-old Tylesha Watson was on a front porch at a home on the block grilling with friends and kids were nearby at the time of the shooting. She was shot in the shoulder by a stray bullet and rushed to Temple University Hospital where she later died.
There have now been 322 homicides in the city in 2022, that's one more than this time last year which was the highest on record.
Police say Watson was an innocent victim.
"They weren't doing anything. They were having a good time. We were yelling across from each other and they were doing karaoke, cooking out on their grill, and next thing you know pop, pop, pop. I come downstairs and she's flat on her front and everyone over there is trying to help her," a witness said.
Many neighbors tell Eyewitness News they're scared to come outside at night to sit on the porch and feel like a prisoner in their homes with the ongoing violence.
"We're doing everything we can from policing to investing in crime fighting and violence interruption and doing everything we can and continue to do until we get these numbers down," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
The mayor admitted right now it's not enough because people are being killed.
Police are urging anyone with information in this case to come forward.
