Two Northeast residents were among nine men arrested by Philadelphia police at the start of the New Year for celebratory shooting.
Robert Green, 25, of the 4600 block of Tolbut St. in Upper Holmesburg, and Nariman Akhmerov, 38, of the 10000 block of Bridle Road in Somerton, each spent Jan. 1 behind bars, police said. Both were charged with violating Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act, reckless endangerment and related offenses.
The clock had just struck midnight for the New Year when police in Kensington allegedly saw Green exiting a residence on the 500 block of E. Cornwall St. and firing a black handgun into the air. He was arrested on the spot at 12:01Â a.m.
Akhmerov was still celebrating almost two hours later, at 1:57 a.m., in his second floor apartment when police allegedly saw his arm emerge from a second floor holding a handgun. The suspect fired shots into the air, police said, and was arrested at the scene on the same charges as Green.
Police arrested seven other men in connection with similar incidents elsewhere in the city. ••