A woman was killed early Tuesday when, police said, a bullet was fired through the front door of an apartment during a break-in at a complex along Girard Avenue in North Philly.
According to Philadelphia Police Department Chief Inspector Scott Small, the incident happened just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday when officers arrived at an apartment complex along the 1500 block of Girard Avenue following a reported break-in.
As officers arrived, Small said, they heard a gunshot from inside the building and rushed to find a woman, who appeared to be in her 50s, on a first-floor hallway bleeding heavily after she had been shot.
A steel apartment door near the woman had a single bullet hole in it and, Small said that investigators believe someone shot from within the apartment.
“It appears that someone fired a shot from the inside of the apartment through the door, possibly striking this female in the chest,” he said.
Small said the door was locked and needed a pass code to open. Also, he noted, it had no window or peep hole to allow anyone inside the apartment to see the other side of the door.
“Right now there’s a bullet hole, but we believe that happened as a result of this shooting,” he said.
The woman was taken to a nearby hospital where, he said, she was pronounced at about 3:30 a.m.
Inside the apartment, Small said, there was a woman, also believed to be in her 50s, who lived there and is believed to be the shooter in this incident.
There was a handgun in the apartment, as well, he said.
“We don’t know why the female who died was in the apartment building and we are getting information that she was trying to enter that apartment that has the bullet hole in the door,” he said. “So, preliminary information is that she was trying to enter that apartment and there was a shot fired through the door, striking the female in the chest.”
The woman who is believed to be the shooter was cooperating with the investigation and was taken to police headquarters for questioning, said Small.
As of about 5:30 a.m., Small said, investigators intended to obtain a warrant and search the apartment to learn more.
The entire incident was caught on the building’s surveillance cameras and, Small said, police also took a security guard who interacted with the victim prior to the shooting into police headquarters for an interview, as well.
This investigation is ongoing.
NBC10 is working to learn more.
