Delaware County Times | By Rose Quinn
Gun violence in two towns on opposite sides of the county Monday proved fatal for one Chester man and left a 12-year-old Darby Borough girl hospitalized with a hip wound, authorities said.
Investigators in both Chester and Darby spent most of Memorial Day tracking leads in the separate incidents, city police Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr. and borough Police Chief Robert Smythe said.
In Chester, shots rang out shortly after 1 p.m., drawing police to the area of 21st Street and Edgmont Avenue. The original police call came in at 1:04 p.m. as “a man with a gun.” While officers were en route, information was updated as “subject shot.”
The shooting victim was identified as 27-year-old Devon Williams, the son of the Rev. Calvin Williams, pastor of Temple of Brotherly Love, an outspoken anti-violence crusader in the city. Late Monday, Williams said he was not going to let the death of his son dim his important mission. Instead, it will strengthen it, he said.
“I cannot stand here and tell another parent to hold on if I can’t,” Williams said.
But seeing his son on the ground, and then having to call Devon’s mother and break the news, were very hard, Williams said.
Williams said he was remembering Devon as a young boy, “how life used to be.”
In a prepared release issued earlier Monday, city police Capt. Anita Amaro said officers arriving at the scene found a male suffering from gunshot wounds to the torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Additionally, she said the alleged shooter was caught on a surveillance camera before the victim was shot.
A joint investigation is continuing by city and county detectives. Anyone with information is asked to contact city police Detective Nelson Collins at 610-447-8431, or county Detective Michael Jay at 610-8901-4711.
Across the county in Darby, two shots were fired in the 900 block of Forrester Avenue about 3 p.m. A 12-year-old girl was stepping into her grandfather’s vehicle. He heard a shot and she felt a sting in her hip, Smythe said.
The girl is believed to have been caught in the gunfire, which was apparently over drugs.
“She is an innocent person and these morons come out with a gun,” Smythe said. “She had nothing to do with this.”
According to Smythe, the girl’s grandfather tried in vain to close the vehicle door to shield her.
While her injury is not believed to be life threatening, Smythe reported at about 7:30 p.m. that she was undergoing emergency surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She was out of surgery around 10 p.m., according to Smythe. He said residents in the neighborhood are talking among themselves about the shooting, but are not offering any information to police.
“Somebody out there has to have a heart and tell us who did this,” Smythe said.
Additionally, Smythe said investigators identified two suspects in connection with the shooting. They were identified as Lynnette Crawford and Joshua Singleton, both of the same residence in the 900 block of Forrester.
According to Smythe, both individuals were seen leaving the area in a 1998 green Mercedes E32, with a Pennsylvania tag HZD3483. The vehicle is registered to Crawford, Smythe said.
“We want to talk to both of them,” Smythe said.
Anyone with information is asked to call borough police at 610-586-1100.
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