A 43-year-old man was fatally shot while walking to a prayer service at a Philadelphia mosque. The incident occurred around 5 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot on the 1500 block of Germantown Avenue in the city’s Kensington area.
The victim, accompanied by another man, was approaching the mosque when gunfire erupted. Ori Beckerman, a Kensington resident, recounted hearing nine rapid gunshots that prompted him to investigate.
“You can clearly see our victim walking to this mosque for a prayer service. He was walking with another male. You see the shooter run up behind the victim, and from just a few feet away, begin firing shots,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The mosque confirmed that the victim occasionally attended prayer services there. Surveillance footage shows the victim collapsing in the parking lot, with the gunman then standing over him and continuing to fire in an execution-style manner. A total of 17 shots were fired during the incident.
The victim sustained a gunshot wound to the head and multiple wounds to the torso. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police secured the area near the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, where the shooting took place. Police has not yet made arrests, and no weapons were recovered. The suspect was last seen fleeing on foot before getting into a dark-colored sedan.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro addressed the tragedy on social media, expressing his condolences and prayers for the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society community. Mosque leaders declined to comment further when approached by Action News.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the police at 215-686-TIPS.
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