Man shot, killed at Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philadelphia: Police
One person was killed while waiting in line at Philly's cheesesteak landmark Pat's King of Steaks.
By Corey Davis
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — One man is dead and another is in custody after a shooting early Thursday morning outside the iconic Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philadelphia.
Two men got into an argument while in line for food around 1 a.m. at 9th and Wharton streets and then started fighting, according to police.
Investigators said about six or seven other customers were also in line waiting on cheesesteaks when the fight broke out.
The shooter pulled out a gun and shot the 23-year-old victim once in the torso, possibly in the back, police said.
Witnesses saw the shooter get into a van with a female driver. Police said those witnesses gave a detailed description of the shooter, as well as the van and its tag number.
A few minutes later, authorities said the man matching the description of the shooter showed up at 5th and Market streets in Center City where he turned himself in after contacting police.
Officers said that when they arrived at Pat’s, they found the victim and rushed him to Jefferson University Hospital where he died shortly after.
“It actually was a very quiet evening the last few hours Wednesday into Thursday; it was unusually quiet for a July nice summer evening, but all of a sudden we saw some gun violence. But in this case, and in another case in Southwest Philadelphia, that shooter is also in custody,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Police are now working to track down the female driver. They said there are multiple angles of surveillance video from surrounding businesses.
This homicide now adds to the latest total that continues to rise in the city at a record pace.
“All shootings are taken very serious by the police department, especially homicides and we do our best to deploy our personnel, do a full investigation and communicate with everyone involved and – in this particular case – the shooter is in custody,” Small said.
It’s currently unclear whether the shooter and victim are tourists or local residents.
Police have not yet released the identity of the victim.
Pat’s Steaks was closed for a few hours while police investigated.
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