PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A man who barricaded himself on a SEPTA Route 18 bus in Philadelphia’s Fox Chase neighborhood died Monday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after an hourslong standoff with police, authorities said.
Police first responded around 5 a.m. to reports of an armed man who refused to get off the bus at the end of the route. By about 5 p.m., the standoff had ended, and the bus, which had remained at the center of the police response for more than 12 hours, was towed away from Oxford Avenue.
Family members identified the man as Lonnie Turner.
Julio Rosario owns an MMA academy across the street.
“I just heard one shot; it was one, quick pat, and that was the end of the situation,” Rosario said.
Investigators are also examining Turner’s connection to a double homicide in the Cedarbrook neighborhood, nearly five miles away. Two women were found shot to death inside a home in the 8300 block of Williams Avenue after a reported fire approximately one hour before the standoff began.
Family members identified the victims as 78-year-old Sadie Turner and Gabby Turner, who was in her 20s. They said the two were Lonnie Turner’s sister and adoptive mother.
Family members confirmed with Action News that the man on the SEPTA bus is accused of killing his mother who adopted him years ago, and his sister, who was also adopted.
The violence shocked residents in Fox Chase, where neighbors spent much of the day watching the police response unfold.
“From what I understand, it was a domestic violence thing; I think what’s unsettling is it extended out into the community. He rode the bus, although it’s in this little sleepy enclave; this is a main road,” said Jennifer Sita, a Fox Chase resident. “The scary thing is he had a gun, and he was riding the public transportation. I’m very sad for the bus driver that had to experience that.”
Throughout the day, negotiators worked to persuade the man to surrender peacefully, according to residents who observed the response.
“From what I was hearing, they were really trying to get him to give up on his own. They tried to make things safe for him, telling some of the SWAT guys to put their guns away; I heard them trying to do that, trying to make him feel comfortable,” Rosario said.
Road closures and a heavy police presence affected nearby businesses and residents all day, but some felt the biggest issue was the uncertainty of the potentially volatile situation in the neighborhood, which doesn’t happen often.
“What ended up happening happened, but it was a long day of fear in the community and not knowing,” she said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Family members said they believe the Fox Chase standoff and the Cedarbrook double homicide are connected.
They also said Lonnie Turner had recently been released from jail and lived at the home where the two women were killed.
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