The Kimmel Center in Center City Philadelphia will be open to fans Wednesday night for a Hairspray Live! Viewing Party.
Photo Credit: NBCUniversal
More than a week after a teenage boy was gunned down in Philadelphia's Mayfair section during an apparent robbery attempt, Philadelphia Police announced charges against a fellow teenager.
A yet-to-be-identified 19-year-old turned himself into Philadelphia homicide detectives Tuesday to face murder charges in the killing of 14-year-old Ian Wilsey, said Philadelphia Police.
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Wilsey was on the 6200 block of Brous Avenue at 9 p.m. on Nov. 28 when at least one unidentified gunman opened fire. The teen was struck three times in the chest and torso. Donna Dressler, a Mayfair resident, found him lying on the ground moments after the shooting.
"I was down the basement, I heard 'pop, pop, pop,'" Dressler said. "I quick, ran out the door and I wasn't expecting to see a young kid laying down like that."
Wilsey, who would have turned 15 in a few weeks, died a short time later. The teen was not from the immediate area where he was killed but he had an address connected to a home in the neighborhood.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said it appeared that Wilsey was the victim of a robbery. Investigators spoke to the 16-year-old Wilsey was with in an attempt to find out if the boy was targeted.
Wilsey attended Northeast High School. Friends and family gathered last week for a vigil in his memory.
"He was very tight with me, and somebody took him," wailed mom Kelly Wilsey.
Country music artist Granger Smith is back in Texas after he was hospitalized for injuries sustained when he fell off a stage in New Jersey.
Smith posted Tuesday on Twitter that he's starting to regain movement. [[405046456, C]]
Smith was treated for two broken ribs and a punctured and partially collapsed lung at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
He was singing while standing on an audio monitor when it gave way and he fell into a metal barricade at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville on Friday night. He got back up and continued performing.
His remaining 2016 shows have been canceled. [[238904721, C]]
A Delaware County family devastated by a house fire is getting the help they need thanks to a selfless young boy who is thinking of others during this Christmas season.
Six-year-old Ethan met Santa on Sunday during a Christmas event in Delaware County.
“He was standing in front of me very seriously and was like, ‘Can I ask you something?’ And I’m like, ‘Well of course,’” Santa told NBC10.
Instead of asking Santa for a gift for himself, Ethan instead told him about a family in a Garnet Valley home that he always passed on the way to school. Ethan didn’t know the family but told Santa he was worried about them because of an accidental garage fire that had destroyed their home a month ago. His one wish was for Santa to find them and make sure they had everything they needed for Christmas.
“Here’s this little kid thinking of others over himself at Christmas time which is really what it’s all about,” Santa said.
Santa tracked down the family on Facebook and soon came in contact with Harvey and Nicole Pike. Harvey is a Haverford Police officer while Nicole is a nurse. They are currently living in a rental house as their Garnet Valley home is being rebuilt. Santa is now gathering donations to give to them during Christmas, all because of Ethan’s wish.
“Without a doubt it’ll be a merry Christmas for their family,” Santa said.
Harvey and Nicole don't know Ethan but want to meet him.
“You’re an amazing little boy,” said Nicole Pike. “I hope Santa gets you everything you want for Christmas and we can’t thank you enough for being concerned about us.”
CLICK HERE if you would like to send donations to the Pike family.
Chantay Love sat across from Pennsylvania's next attorney general, Josh Shapiro, at a North Philadelphia community center Tuesday and told him gun violence isn't a vague problem affecting the state's urban areas.
Love, a leader with the group Every Murder Is Real, said it's a scourge destroying whole generations of young people, and community organizations needed the attorney general's help.
"Partnerships are key to the survival of the black community," she said.
A dozen leaders with North Philly groups who work to lessen violence and crime gathered at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center at 21st Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Shapiro spent two hours mostly listening on one side of a table, accompanied by City Council President Darrell Clarke, police Commissioner Richard Ross, District Attorney Seth Williams and Sheriff Jewel Williams.
Shapiro at one point asked about what is working in the restless campaign by local leaders to lessen gun violence and its broader effect on the community.
"You're going to have an attorney general in seven weeks that cares deeply about this and will provide resources," Shapiro said. "What do you need from me?"
Ross mentioned increased collaboration between the AG's office, particularly its Gun Violence Task Force, and federal authorities like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Dorothy Johnson-Speight, of Mothers in Charge, said the volunteer efforts of many people is already in place, but that their work could be expanded with financial support by the attorney general and other state offices.
"We do anger management counseling every day in our offices, no funding," Johnson-Speight said, listing a few of the initiatives her group oversees. "We are working every single day to make a difference."
The forum is the second in a series that Shapiro is holding before he is sworn in on Jan. 17. The Democrat and current Montgomery County commissioner previously represented a portion of Montgomery County in the Pennsylvania House and lives in Abington.
His first forum, held last month in Allentown, was framed around the issue of heroin addiction.
Clarke, who Shapiro described at the meeting as "the most powerful person in the city of Philadelphia, said he believes Shapiro will be an ardent supporter in strengthening Pennsylvania's "lost-and-stolen" gun reporting requirement. Clarke said he thinks it's the number one issue to heading off gun violence.
Shapiro has not yet said when his next forum will be.
A Montgomery County man was arrested on child porn charges.
William Davis, 52, of Skippack Township, is charged with dissemination of child pornography, possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility.
The investigation began September 4 when an East Norriton Township detective was conducting an undercover, electronic communications operation on the internet. During the investigation, the detective located a computer that was configured to anonymously share files with others. When the detective connected to the computer he received 73 sexually explicit files and determined 24 of those depicted child porn.
Investigators traced the computer to Davis’ home, officials said. Detectives then executed a search warrant at the home and seized Davis’ computer. Officials say they found 19 child porn videos and images on the computer.
Davis was arrested on December 1 and released on $5,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning.
A man attacked and sexually assaulted a woman who was running on a trail in Amity Township over the weekend, according to police.
A woman told police she was running on the trail behind the baseball field at the corner of Rosewood and Lake drives Saturday around 4 p.m. when she spotted a man standing near a shed at the field.
The woman said the man then ran after her on the trail, caught up to her and then sexually assaulted her. The woman then managed to strike the man on the right side of his face with a rock and break free, investigators said. The woman told police the man then fled.
The suspect is described as a 40-year-old, dark-skinned, possibly Hispanic man with wrinkled skin, a scruffy beard and mustache, dark long hair and long fingernails standing approximately 5-foot-4. He was last seen wearing a black “Mack” baseball cap, a black oversized thermal style long sleeve shirt with a front pocket on the left chest area, gray jeans and gray work boots. The woman also said the man spoke with a possible accent and a lisp.
If you have any information on the man’s identity, please call Amity Township Police at 610-689-6002 or 610-655-4911.
A man was struck and killed by a vehicle in Blackwood, New Jersey Monday evening.
The elderly man was walking on the Black Horse Pike at Grand Avenue shortly before 6 p.m. when he was struck by a vehicle. The victim was taken to JFK Memorial Hospital in Washington Township where he died from his injuries. He has not yet been identified.
The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was not hurt. The driver is currently cooperating with investigators.
Black Horse Pike is closed at the scene of the crash as the investigation continues.