A 38-year-old man was shot in the right forearm early Tuesday morning while walking near the Gayborhood with another man. He’s listed in critical condition at a city hospital.
Philadelphia police said investigators are looking for a roughly six-foot-tall black male with a medium complexion. The suspect was last seen heading eastbound on Manning Street from 15th Street, dressed in all black and carrying a semi-automatic handgun.
Police said it was an attempted robbery, but don’t have further information on a motive. Asked if investigators are considering antigay animus in the shooting, Officer Tanya Little, police spokeswoman, told PGN, “I’m sure they’ll look at every aspect of it.”
“Right now in the investigation it’s still too early to tell what a motive may be,” she said.
Little said the identity of the victims is not yet being released, nor is their relationship to each other.
According to authorities, the 38-year-old man was standing with a 50-year-old man on the corner of 15th and Locust streets about 12:55 a.m. An unknown male walked toward them and shot the younger man in the right forearm.
Both men fled southbound on 15th Street then east on Spruce Street. Police transported the younger man to Hahnemann Hospital, where he went into surgery and is listed in critical condition.
Franny Price, chair of the police LGBT liaison committee, said she didn’t have any information about whether there was an LGBT angle to the shooting.
“I’m trying to find out myself,” she said, noting she called the police requesting updates. “That was my first thought when I saw it was at 15th and Locust.”