Germantown shopkeeper shot multiple times at point-blank range

With its former occupant in surgery after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, a metal chair sat empty on a Germantown sidewalk late Wednesday night.

At 11:29 p.m., police responded to Pop’s Dollar Plus Store on the 4900 block of Germantown Ave. Upon arrival, they found the owner of the store, a 46-year-old male, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the arms, legs and torso.

Chief Inspector Scott Small said that the victim, who also lived in the three-story building, was seated outside of the store when at least nine shots from a semi-automatic handgun were fired at point-blank range.

Small was unable to verify the exact amount of shots that struck the victim, who was found inside the store, where a large amount of blood was observed. No ballistic evidence was found inside.

The victim was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition Thursday morning.

The suspect was described as being a man between 5-feet 10-inches and 6-feet tall with a stocky build and a full beard, who was wearing dark clothing at the time of the shooting. He was last seen getting into a red minivan that was observed fleeing eastbound on Clapier Street.

No motive offered

A witness was being interviewed by Northwest Detectives, and police are searching the neighborhood for possible surveillance footage from nearby businesses. No motive was presented, but police said that the victim was in all likelihood the intended target.

Residents said the suspect was originally seen heading north on Germantown Avenue on foot, and speculated that an accomplice may have been involved.

While residents were reluctant to identify either themselves or the storeowner, they described him as a “good neighborhood guy.”

A resident who identified himself as “Matt” said other shootings have occurred at, or around, that location.

At 12:48 a.m., residents who were in touch with the victim’s family in the hospital via cellphone related that his stomach wound was no longer threatening, but the leg wounds remained a source of concern for doctors.