Two masked men were shot, one fatally, early Monday morning during an attempted home invasion robbery in Tacony, police said.
Authorities said a preliminary investigation shows the suspects broke into a house on the 7100 block of Walker Street (near Wellington Street) and ran up to a bedroom, where they took a cell phone from a 9-year-old boy.
Then, they confronted a 33-year-old woman in her bedroom and demanded money, police said. As they were preparing to leave the property, an unidentified person opened fire on the men, investigators said.
One of the robbers was hit in his calf and back and jumped out of a second-story window, landing in the rear driveway. Officers, who responded around 4:15 a.m., found the man, who died less than an hour later at the hospital.
Authorities have not released his name but said he has prior arrests for burglary and possession of a gun in a school zone.
The second man, identified as 24-year-old Elvin Loureno-Uviera, was shot in the arm, police said. A private vehicle took him to Nazareth Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
In a news conference uploaded to CBS3’s website, Capt. Jason Smith said authorities tentatively believe the shooter was the woman’s boyfriend.
“It wouldn’t appear at this point in time that this individual faces the possibility of a murder charge,” Smith said. “I would say that this is a claim for self-defense, to be sure.”
Investigators think the home invasion was connected to drugs.
The woman and the 9-year-old boy were not hurt. A 1-year-old baby, who was also in the house at the time, was not injured.
Smith said Laureano-Uviera was previously arrested six times and charged with various offenses, including assault and burglary. ••
