Leftist Campaign Worker Shot and Killed by Fellow Leftist Campaign Worker While Canvassing City Streets: Police
A canvasser for a liberal get-out-the-vote group was shot to death by a member of the same group as they campaigned in Philadelphia on Monday, police said.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a 46-year-old man with the group OnePA was in the East Germantown section of the city when he and a 22-year-old from the same group had a disagreement over something and a gun was pulled.
The full details of the dispute have not been made public, but the pair were reportedly handing out flyers when they encountered one another.
That was when the older man allegedly pulled out a handgun that was not registered to him.
Detectives are still investigating why the gun was pulled, but the 22-year-old pulled out his own legal firearm and shot the 46-year-old, the Inquirer reported.
Police said the man was struck by a single bullet in the armpit. He died at a Philadelphia-area hospital just after 4 p.m.
Officers said the shooter remained at the scene and spoke to officers about the incident, claiming he was acting in self-defense.
Political pamphlets were reportedly present at the scene and were also found in the shooter’s car.
No other details are available, and the identities of both men have not been released.
A detective named Ernest Ransom told the Inquirer that the men involved in the shooting “had always had a beef.”
The incident occurred as the city prepares for next week’s mayoral and city council races, which have focused heavily on a wave of violence in the city.
The executive director of OnePA spoke to the Inquirer about the death of one of his canvassers at the hands of another.
Steve Paul told the newspaper the group’s volunteers and staffers are “heartbroken,” and he also expressed “condolences and sympathy” on behalf of the group to the family of the man who died.
“Today, a One PA team member tragically lost their life,” Paul said. “We are mourning this senseless loss and continuing to gather the facts and investigate what happened.”
The Inquirer reported Paul worked for former city councilwoman Helen Gym.
Gym is running for mayor, but Paul’s group was not canvassing on behalf of her. The Democratic mayoral candidate did tweet about the shooting.
“I was devastated to hear about the tragic death of a canvasser today,” she wrote on Twitter.
Gym added, “My thoughts are with the family of the victim, the One PA community, and everyone impacted by this irrevocable loss. Though the canvasser was not part of our campaign, this loss is deeply felt by all of us.”
I was devastated to hear about the tragic death of a canvasser today. My thoughts are with the family of the victim, the One PA community, and everyone impacted by this irrevocable loss. Though the canvasser was not part of our campaign, this loss is deeply felt by all of us.
— Helen Gym (@HelenGymPHL) May 9, 2023
OnePA says its mission is to champion “Economic, Education and Environmental Justice at every level, winning laws, policy change and equitable resources where we live.”
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