A man in his 20s was critically injured in a shooting Tuesday near a basketball court in Delaware County’s Chester City, police said.
Investigators said the shooting happened near the 300 block of Frank Young Avenue while multiple neighbors were outside enjoying the weather.
When officers arrived, they found shell casings scattered across the street and sidewalk near the basketball court. A white SUV at the scene had five bullet holes, including damage to the hood and shattered front passenger window.
Police said the victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
“The brokenness of it to me — it’s just the brazenness of you doing something like that on a beautiful day,” Chester City Interim Commissioner Katrina Blackwell said. “Children, like you said, adjacent to a basketball court — where else can they go if they can’t go to a basketball court?”
According to investigators, someone opened fire on the victim in broad daylight while neighbors were outside nearby. Detectives spent hours collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.
Officials said no weapon has been recovered, and investigators are still trying to determine whether one or two shooters were involved.
“That’s when I look to it as total disrespect and disregard for hardworking people who just want to live life, be happy and just enjoy what they work hard for,” Blackwell said.
Neighbors told NBC10 the victim lives in one of the apartment units along Frank Young Avenue. Witnesses said they heard at least 10 gunshots and saw the man suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
“We have a lot of detectives from different agencies that are trying to get all the information that we can,” Blackwell said. “If somebody is out there and you were in the area, you know somebody. I understand that it can be kind of scary, but just get us the information.”
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.