PHILADELPHIA -- A 17-year-old was shot to death inside an apartment building on New Year's Eve, pushing the number of homicides in Philadelphia in 1988 to the second highest total in 10 years and the third highest ever.
Police said O'Neil Garnett, the city's 402nd and final homicide victim of 1988, was shot to death by an unidentified man at about 12:29 p.m. Saturday.
'Several people were in there and (Garnett) saw someone he had been in a fight with previously,' said police Sgt. Thomas Burke of the department's Homicide Division. 'They were going to go outside and fight. They were exchanging words and (the suspect) ripped out a gun and started shooting.'
The gunman was believed to be in his 30s, Burke said.
Garnett was one of five people slain in Philadelphia between 5 p.m. Friday and 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The killings pushed the city's homicide level above 400 for the first time since 1980. The 402 homicides in 1988 compared with 437 in 1980 and 444 in 1974, the bloodiest year on record in Philadelphia.
William Rose, 21, was fatally shot while sitting in his car outside an all-night dance club shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, police said. Another man shot in the leg was listed in guarded condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
A police officer who witnessed the shooting chased the gunman and fired a shot. The suspect, Charley Sample, 19, was arrested when he entered Graduate Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the back, police said.
Sample was charged with homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and related charges, police said.
Lester Walker, 55, a gas station attendant, was shot to death Friday in North Philadelphia. Police said they had no suspects or motive in the shooting.
Police also were looking for a suspect in the beating death of Bruce Beu, 59. Investigators said a brick found Friday near the victim's body may have been used to kill the man.
Jeffrey Pratt, 22, of West Philadelphia, was charged Saturday in the stabbing death of his roommate, Kevin Jordan, 42. Homicide detectives said they believed an argument over a third person led to the stabbing.
