Philadelphia shooting: 4 people fired across from Temple University soccer practice facility, police say
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Four people were shot dead outside a hookah lounge at the foot of Temple University’s campus, police said.
Investigators say the shooting happened before 3 a.m. outside the Hubble Bubble Hookah Lounge on the 1000 block of Diamond Street. The lounge is located under an off-campus apartment building and across from the soccer team’s training facility.
“I think just another day. You know, it’s happening around here,” said Pablo Rouco, a sophomore.
SEE ALSO: Crime Data: How Safe Are Students Off the Philadelphia Campus?
The university says both Temple and Philadelphia police responded to gunfire.
Investigators say before the shooting, a security guard threw someone out of the lounge. According to Temple, a fight broke out in the street and the person who was kicked out was shot dead along with three other people.
“I heard it when I woke up this morning, but as I don’t know, I’ve never really felt unsafe on campus,” said Aldrich Solomon, a senior who lives in Apex on Diamond, the apartment building in where the shooting happened.
Temple says none of the victims were students, but this is the latest shooting in a string of violent crimes on or around campus.
On Friday afternoon, police arrested someone who was bringing a loaded gun into Morgan Hall.
On Thursday evening, a 25-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries in a stabbing on 12th Street and Diamond Street.
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In February, Temple police officer Christopher Fitzgerald was killed while patrolling neighborhoods around campus.
“My mom always sends the Keep Us Safe TU posts and says, ‘What are we going to do? Can you switch?’ And I’m like, ‘We’ve just come this far, and I really like the friends I’ve made here,'” said Jaimie Harley, a sophomore. “And it just sucks that we’re making them feeling insecure all the time.”
With Temple’s community concerned with crime, the faculty association considers a vote of no confidence in university leadership, including President Jason Wingard.
“It’s just such a violent city and I don’t know if leadership really has much to do with it. If someone else were in President Wingard’s place, what else could you do?” said Colby Duffy, a junior.
“Is this safe for me? And I love Temple and I love going to school here, but it’s not worth dying for, you know? Or get shot,” said Natalie Green, a sophomore.
According to police, no arrests were made in the shooting; Officers found a firearm at the scene.
The Action News Investigative Team combed crime data in the city of Philadelphia to find out how safe college students are when they go off campus. You can read more about our results here.
