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Issue date: 1/20/06 Section: News

Shooting investigation stalled

Jared Miller

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<i>Courtesy Philadelphia Police </i> <b>Surveillance photos </b>from a 7-Eleven convenience store show two suspects minutes before a Sunday shooting in which a Penn student was hit. The images are not clear enough to identify the primary suspect, who is h
Courtesy Philadelphia Police Surveillance photos from a 7-Eleven convenience store show two suspects minutes before a Sunday shooting in which a Penn student was hit. The images are not clear enough to identify the primary suspect, who is h
[Click to enlarge]
Little progress has been made in the investigation of the shooting of a Penn student and two others early Sunday morning.

According to Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker, police have no major leads and are still conducting interviews in an attempt to obtain more information.

Engineering sophomore Mari Oishi was struck by a stray bullet in the left thigh near the intersection of 38th and Walnut streets at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday.

Two men were also shot in the incident after refusing to give up their mink coats and the keys to their 2006 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class 500 Roadster to two other men.

Police have examined surveillance footage showing two suspects at the 7-Eleven convenience store located at 106 S. 38th St. between five and 10 minutes before the shooting. The image quality, however, is too low to properly identify the men, Walker said.

The two were seen on camera inside the 7-Eleven for about six minutes. They talked on their cell phones and looked in the direction of the victims' car.

"The tape was a critical piece of evidence," Walker said. "Having the ability to identify the suspects would have pushed the investigation along, but unfortunately all the channels through which [we can make the tape clearer] have been exhausted."

One of the victims -- Michael Barrett, 32, of the 4000 block of Ridge Avenue in North Philadelphia -- was arrested after the shooting when police found he had a gun and no permit for it.

He was treated for multiple gunshot wounds to the stomach at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and released. He is now in police custody.

At the time of the shooting, Barrett was free on bail, having been charged with burglary, criminal conspiracy, theft and weapons offenses, among other crimes.

He also has an extensive criminal record that includes aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and theft.

The other victim -- Robert Keith, 24, of the 5000 block of North 13th Street -- has a criminal background as well, including theft and criminal conspiracy.

Keith was released from HUP yesterday after being shot in the arm.

With no other solid pieces of evidence, police are now trying to find ways to move the investigation forward.

Walker said police will conduct more interviews with 7-Eleven employees and any other possible witnesses who may have spotted the gunmen.

They will also review Philadelphia's arrestee database and show mug shots to the victims in an effort to identify the gunmen.

The man who fired the gun is described as a black man, 6 feet tall, and was wearing a green jacket with 'Adidas' written across the front in yellow and a single yellow stripe on each sleeve.

The other man is about 5 feet 10 inches tall and was wearing a dark jacket.

Both are thought to be in their mid-20s and were last seen fleeing west on Sansom Street.

Walker said that anyone who was in the 7-Eleven around the time of the shooting should contact either Philadelphia Police or Penn Police with any information.

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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 19

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 3:17 PM EST

How the hell does society let these "victims" purchase mink coats and mercedes roadsters? Is it their terrific credit? How the hell do they get away with it? The fact that the one (Barett) useless piece of shit was out on bail speaks volumes about the system. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 3:37 PM EST

Why even bother having surveillance cams if they're not of good enough quality to see a suspect? Seems like a waste of time and money if they're just recording fuzzy ghosts with no means of IDing them. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 3:56 PM EST

At Penn, crime is only real when Penn students get hit. Over 300 people, mostly young black men, have been killed last year here. A lot of that took place a few blocks from here. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 4:05 PM EST

Ok so i've been reading responses like "Victims?" for days. A couple of notes:

Driving a nice car with a mink coat coming from an event while black (we'll call this DNCMCCEWB) IS NOT A CRIME! Getting shot for doing this MAKES A PERSON A VICTIM REGARDLESS OF CRIMINAL RECORD!

There has not been any evidence presented showing that the VICTIM used illegally obtained funds to purchase the car and coat - well unless being black and out late at night with expensive things is evidence. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 4:59 PM EST

with a rap sheet like that one there is absolutely no way that guy gets the benefit of the doubt - and i wouldn't give it to him if he was white either. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 6:02 PM EST

Hey Rip, this is a Penn student newspaper. If If you want local community news, read something else. Though I do think the DP is terrible in reporting relevant facts and providing insightful opinions, newspapers commissioned for Philadelphia are ultimately the only legitimate news source for surrounding community. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 6:25 PM EST

Its not about giving him the benefit of the doubt. He was shot in an attempted robbery. That makes him a victim. Fine don't give him the benefit of the doubt, but you should certainly keep your mouth shut about that which you know nothing about - like how he afforded his car and coat. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 6:50 PM EST

You know what P - we're just going to have to disagree on this one - I apologize if you believe me to be a racist, but I can understand how you would feel that way. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/20/06 @ 7:11 PM EST

We will have to disagree on this one. On a final note, could someone tell me how this guy afforded a 90k+ car and a mink coat by robbing penn kids? I mean, i know many penn kids are rich, but they don't carry THAT much money and there haven't been THAT many robberies. (Continued…)

anonymous882

anonymous882

posted 1/21/06 @ 3:15 AM EST

Rip - obviously as a community we're more likely to be concerned with crime against our students than we are with crime against non-affiliated individuals. (Continued…)

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