Gunman steals bike, scooter to commit Southwest Philly slaying, police say

A 19-year-old man is now in custody, police said, after a man was shot and killed in Southwest Philly late Wednesday by a gunman who, police believe, stole a bike to get to the scene of the shooting and then stole a scooter to escape the area.

According to Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace, police were alerted to the incident at about 10:03 p.m. on Wednesday night after receiving a report of a shooting at the intersection of 66th Street and Dick’s Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia.

Here, responding officers found a 19-year-old man unresponsive along the sidewalk, near a dumpster at a corner store, Pace said.

The man, who Pace did not immediately provide further identifying information on, was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced at about 10:21 p.m.

Pace said that a review of surveillance footage from cameras at that corner store showed the victim was shot in the back by a gunman who rode to the scene on a bicycle.

In the video, he said, the gunman could be seen riding the bike to the scene before producing a firearm and shooting the victim in the back. Then, after the victim feel to the ground, the gunman shot them several more times, he said.

Once this was done, the shooter fled, leaving the bike behind, according to Pace.

As police investigated the scene of the shooting later that evening, Pace said, officers were approached by a man who claimed the bike was his.

This man told officers the bike was stolen earlier in the evening off the front of a SEPTA bus by an individual, who was not riding the bus, when it stopped at the intersection of 64th Street and Lindberg Avenue.

According to Pace, the man who said his bike was stolen was unaware that it had been used to commit the shooting.

As police investigated this new information, Pace said, officers received a report that the owner of an electric scooter was riding along the 2600 block of Daggett — about two blocks from the scene of the shooting — when their scooter was stolen.

The individual who stole the scooter — who police believe was the gunman involved in the shooting — then continued an escape from the scene on the electric scooter, Pace said.

Here too, Pace said, the victim of the theft was unaware of the deadly shooting.

In a morning update, police said that follow-up information led investigators to the intersection of 84th Street and Bartram Avenue on Thursday morning where they apprehended a 19-year-old man believed to be involved in the killing.

Officials said that police were withholding the identities of the suspect and the deceased as they await formal charges and notification of the victim’s family.

An investigation into this shooting remains ongoing, he said.

This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.