Victim in fatal Abbotsford shooting ID’d as Christopher Curry

The victim in yesterday’s fatal shooting at the Abbotsford housing complex has been identified by police as Christopher Curry, 41, of Greene Street in Germantown. 

Officer Jillian Russell, a police spokeswoman, said information on a suspect and motive is still unknown.

Police say Curry was shot multiple times in the back and left arm just after 10:30 a.m. on the 3200 block of Defense Terrace near East Falls.

Curry was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:05 a.m.

An isolated incident?

Greg Brinkley, an Abbotsford resident and activist, said he thinks the incident was the result of an isolated personal dispute, not neighborhood rivalry.

“I can categorically say this is not neighborhood to neighborhood,” he said. “This appears to be a personal beef. We don’t have a long running battle between the neighborhoods; that’s not what’s happening. We got that under control.”

Brinkley said Curry was a former resident of Abbotsford who often came back to visit friends in the area.

“He was a decent guy, well-liked in the community and always had a real easy smile, great personality and he’d make you laugh,” said Brinkley, adding that the news caught him by surprise.

“If something was that serious that lead to his demise and being killed, you would have heard something prior to that,” he said. “There was no indication of that here”

Brinkley said the fact that Curry was shot in the back speaks to his character in confrontations. 

“He wasn’t the type of person who created problems and wanted complications. If there was a dispute, he was probably walking away trying to diffuse the situation. It’s sad to see him go but that is even sadder.”

Past shootings at Abbotsford 

Officer Russell said there is no indication that this incident is related to past shootings at Abbotsford, but added that the investigation is ongoing. 

In August 2012, a man was killed and two more were injured during a pair of unsolved shootings at the Abbotsford complex. Police were called to Authority Terrace, where they found Terrence Gordon, 33, of North Philadelphia, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.

Ten hours later, police responded to the nearby block of Berkeley Drive, where between 15 and 19 shots were reportedly fired at two men in a Buick parked on the road. Both victims were injured. 

Anyone with more information on Wednesday’s shooting is asked to call the Northwest Detective Division at 215-686-3353/54.