The bloodshed also included gunfire at a playground that injured six people, a shooting in East Mount Airy that killed a 25-year-old man, and another man shot as he left an Airbnb in Center City.
Nearly 100 kids have been shot in the city already this year, according to police statistics — a tally soon to surpass the number of young people shot in all of last year. Just 18% of the shootings have resulted in an arrest, according to an Inquirer analysis.
The town of fewer than 12,000 people has seen the highest rate of COVID-19 cases of any suburban municipality or Philadelphia zip code with at least 10,000 residents, according to an Inquirer analysis.
“We’re not free unless we’re all free,” Keziah Ridgeway, a history teacher at Northeast High, told the crowd as the rally for Black lives got underway. “Walk as if you are transforming education with your feet.”
This year, the neighborhood blasts seem louder and more frequent, adding to the one-two punch of pandemic fears and the anguish following the police killing of George Floyd.
Scientists have discovered the widespread presence of previously unidentified chemical compounds, likely used as a substitute for highly-toxic 'forever chemicals known as PFAS, in soils across the state of New Jersey. Their toxicity and environmental impact are unknown.
When the coronavirus hit, Mayor Jim Kenney appeared less eager than Gov. Tom Wolf to enact strict measures to control its spread. But 11 weeks later, it's the city urging caution on the governor's push to reopen.
