83-Year-Old Woman Shot Twice On Her Porch During North Philly Shootout

NORTH PHILADELPHIA — An 83-year-old woman was hit twice by stray bullets while sitting outside her home on the 2300 block of North Gratz Street on Wednesday evening, Sept. 30, when gunfire erupted on her block in what police believe was a shootout, according to Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

More than 40 shots were fired, police said. No arrests had been reported as of Friday morning, Oct. 2, and police are asking anyone with information to call the department’s tip line.

What Police Say Happened

The shooting happened Wednesday evening. Reported times vary slightly between outlets: the Inquirer put it around 5:15 p.m., NBC10 said just before 5:30 p.m., CBS Philadelphia said around 5:30 p.m., and 6abc said just before 5 p.m.

Small said surveillance cameras in the neighborhood recorded the whole incident. According to his account to reporters, the video shows a blue sedan traveling east on Dauphin Street and stopping at Gratz and Dauphin streets. A man gets out, fires several shots north up the block, gets back into the car and drives off east on Dauphin Street toward 18th Street.

Police said the car, which the Inquirer identified as a blue Honda Accord, had been reported stolen earlier on Wednesday. Officers were still looking for it Wednesday night, NBC10 reported.

Police preliminarily believe the gunfire may have been an exchange between two people or two groups of people, CBS Philadelphia reported. Small told the Inquirer it was not clear whom the gunman was shooting at.

The Victim

Detectives believe the woman was sitting on her front porch when she was struck. Officers found her in front of her house with two gunshot wounds to the torso, Small told NBC10. She was conscious, and officers took her to Temple University Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, according to NBC10 and the Inquirer. Police have not released her name.

No other injuries were immediately reported, according to 6abc.

Evidence On The Block

Investigators recovered more than 40 spent shell casings fired from two different-caliber firearms, Small said. NBC10 reported that the casings came from two different semi-automatic weapons. The crime scene stretched the length of the block between Dauphin and York streets, according to 6abc.

Officers also found a second car, which 6abc described as a white sedan, riddled with bullet holes on the block. Police said it had jumped a curb and struck a wooden pole, which broke and was still lying on top of the vehicle when officers arrived. The engine was still running, no one was inside, and a gun was visible inside the car, according to police accounts reported by 6abc, NBC10 and CBS Philadelphia.

What Is Still Unknown

As of the latest reports, police had not said who was in the white sedan before it was abandoned, what led to the gunfire, or whether the gun found inside that car was fired during the shootout. No suspects have been publicly identified. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from the area, 6abc reported.

How To Help

Anyone with information about the shooting, the stolen blue sedan or the abandoned white car is asked to call the Philadelphia Police Department’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477). The investigation remains active and ongoing, according to CBS Philadelphia.

The image with this story is an AI-generated visualization of the 2300 block of North Gratz Street based on Google Street View imagery. It is not a photograph of the actual scene.

Sources: NBC10 (Emily Rose Grassi); CBS Philadelphia (Tom Dougherty, Alicia Roberts); The Philadelphia Inquirer (Robert Moran); 6abc.

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