Community leaders hold meeting at West Philly’s Christy Rec Center following shooting that hurt 6, including 5 children

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Local officials held an emergency community meeting at the Christy Rec Center in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, less than a week after a shooting that injured six people, including several children.

Democratic lawmakers, state Rep. Rick Krajewski and District 3 Councilmember Jamie Gauthier hosted the meeting just days after a 17-year-old turned himself in for the shooting. He now faces 14 counts of aggravated assault.

Details of the shooting, suspect to be charged as an adult

Surveillance video of the July 30 shooting showed the gunman and several others arriving at the scene and fleeing after shots were fired.

Assistant District Attorney Marianne Aguilar said the 17-year-old suspect will be tried as an adult. His first preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15.

“We’re going to do everything in our power to ensure that the case is ready to move forward at that listing or soon thereafter,” Aguilar said. “He is being held on over $4 million bail at this point in time, so we do feel confident that he will remain in custody pending the outcome of the case.”

Anna Walters, who is also assigned to the case at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, said a sixth shooting victim came forward Saturday and that the suspect’s 14 aggravated assault charges “encompass the individuals who were physically harmed by gunshots.”

“We had six shooting victims, five of whom were children,” Walters said. “For each of those counts, he faces up to 10 to 20 years in prison.”

Lt. John Anselmo with the Philadelphia Police Department’s Shooting Investigation Group said he believes the shooting was an “isolated incident.”

“I understand there’s a narrative out there that there was a fight earlier in the day,” Anselmo said. “At this point, we don’t believe that had necessarily anything to do with it … It’s just unfortunate it was the very first day that the pool was open and it should have been a peaceful oasis for these family members.”

Lawmakers address ‘old wounds’ reopened by last week’s shooting

Christy Rec Center has dealt with shootings in the past, including an incident in 2021 where three teenagers were shot at the facility’s basketball court, killing one of them.

That incident, along with the death of Tiffany Fletcher, a recreation department employee killed at the formerly named Mill Creek Rec Center in 2022, led to then-Mayor Jim Kenney signing an executive order that banned guns at all rec centers. Mill Creek was later named after Fletcher following an extensive remodel project.

Gauthier said she remembered the death of Kahree Simmons in 2021 “like it was yesterday,” adding it’s only been a few years since the city has been “able to pull itself out of the historic rise in shootings” since the beginning of the decade.

“What happened here the other day kind of broke open those old wounds,” Gauthier said. “But as we have been for many years, we are committed, the city, the state, all of our community partners, are committed to turning Christy Rec into the safe space that our young people and our whole community deserve.”

State Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, told the crowd, “We’re going to keep moving forward and we’re going to keep building.”

“We have multiple groups out here who are reaching young women and young men,” Williams said. “That’s the majority of people you are reaching. And I want you to understand that one person does not blemish the reputation of us who live here in this community.”

Police Capt. Joseph Waters of the 18th District said that 24-hour patrols will be conducted near the rec center, and that two police vehicles will be on-site during pool hours.

“We haven’t had a crime of this nature in over three years at this recreation center,” Waters said. “We’re not going to allow this hiccup to derail some of the progress that we’ve made in this neighborhood. We’re committed to making sure that everybody feels safe.”

As of Aug. 4, 135 homicides have occurred in Philadelphia this year, according to the police department, a decrease of roughly 15% from the previous year.