A tragic incident occurred in North Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon when a 43-year-old man was ambushed and fatally shot outside a mosque, as reported by Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small during a media briefing. Surveillance footage captured the victim walking with another male towards the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society when the shooter approached them from behind and began firing shots at the victim. The shooter continued to shoot at the victim, even while he was on the ground, before fleeing the scene in a vehicle.
Chief Inspector Small characterized the incident as an “execution-type homicide,” noting that responding officers discovered the victim with gunshot wounds to his head, chest, and torso in the mosque’s parking lot. Despite efforts to save him, the victim succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital. The identity of the victim has not been disclosed, and no arrests have been made as the motive behind the attack remains unknown. Fortunately, the individual accompanying the victim was unharmed in the attack.
Law enforcement recovered seventeen spent shell casings from a large-caliber semiautomatic weapon in the parking lot, indicating the intensity of the shooting. The police are currently interviewing witnesses and analyzing additional surveillance footage to gather more information about the perpetrator and the circumstances of the crime.
