A particularly violent extended weekend in Philadelphia included a pair of fatal shootings in Frankford, both of which remained unsolved as of Tuesday afternoon, according to police.
The latest incident occurred at about 1:19 a.m. Monday on the 1700 block of Scattergood St. in a notoriously dangerous area of the neighborhood, where police found a 21-year-old man riddled with wounds lying between parked cars.
Officers went there in response to a report of a shooting. Marquan McDaniels, of the nearby 1600 block of Bridge St., was unresponsive on the ground. Paramedics arrived a short time later and pronounced him dead at the scene. Officially, police have not declared a suspect or motive.
A police source said that the area is notorious for drug activity and violence and that McDaniels was no stranger to authorities.
Just around the corner, the 5300 block of Lesher St. has been the scene of at least five aggravated assaults since the start of 2014, as well as a burglary. On April 23, 2014, a shootout on that block left a 32-year-old man with wounds of the neck and back. Police found 30 empty shell casings at the scene and chased a 23-year-old suspect into a house, where they found two guns and illegal drugs.
McDaniels, meanwhile, had been arrested at least four times since November 2013 for charges including auto theft, drug possession and aggravated assault, court records show. He was twice sentenced to probation in the theft cases, ordered to serve up to a year in prison for the drug case and acquitted in the assault case after a victim repeatedly failed to show up in court and the prosecutor dropped the charges.
Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances of his slaying.
Meanwhile, they’re also trying to figure out what happened to Harry Mercer Jr., 50, of the 5700 block of Leonard St., who was apparently shot outside his home on Saturday.
Police were called to the house at about 1 a.m. to find Mercer lying in a second-floor hallway with a wounded hip. He was taken to Temple University Hospital, but died a short time later. A witness told police that the wounded Mercer had entered the house, rushed upstairs and collapsed. Police have no information about the shooter or motive. ••
