A 49-year-old woman was critically injured while a younger woman and man were hospitalized in stable condition.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Three people were shot multiple times Wednesday morning at a North Philadelphia home, leaving a 49-year-old woman critically injured and two other adults hospitalized, police said.
The shooting happened shortly before 10 a.m. Oct. 21 in the 2800 block of North 20th Street, near Lehigh Avenue. Police said gunfire occurred inside and outside the property. Investigators were working to determine what led to the attack and who was responsible.
The 49-year-old woman was shot 11 times and taken to Temple University Hospital in critical condition, according to police. A 27-year-old woman was shot six times, while a 29-year-old man was shot three times in his right leg. Police said the younger woman and the man were in stable condition.
Some early information about the shooting has circulated describing the three victims as a mother and her two adult children. The publicly available police information and major local news reports reviewed as of Thursday did not independently confirm that family relationship. Authorities also had not publicly released the victims’ names.
Police said a gunman, and possibly a second gunman, approached the home before shots were fired both inside and outside the residence. Investigators had not announced an arrest or released a description of a suspect as of the latest public reports.
Local news accounts differed on some early details about the victims’ hospital conditions. Several outlets, citing police, reported that the 49-year-old woman was in critical condition and the other two victims were stable. One early CBS Philadelphia report reversed the conditions of the two women. Later reporting from multiple local outlets consistently listed the 49-year-old woman as critically injured.
The shooting drew a large police response to North 20th Street as investigators blocked off part of the area and examined the scene. Authorities had not publicly disclosed a motive, whether the victims were specifically targeted or how many shooters may have been involved.
The Philadelphia Police Department’s Shooting Investigation Group is handling the case. No arrests had been reported, and investigators had not announced the recovery of a weapon or identified anyone as a suspect.
The investigation remained active Thursday, with the most seriously injured victim hospitalized in critical condition and detectives working to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 22, 2026.