Two killed, 4 wounded in North Philly drive-by shooting

Six people were wounded — two fatally — in a drive-by shooting Wednesday night in North Philadelphia, police said.

Gunfire was reported shortly after 10 p.m. in the area of 12th and Huntingdon Streets, and the vehicle involved was a van, said Police Commissioner Richard Ross in a briefing to reporters at the scene.

>> UPDATE: Rapper General Reezy and a woman slain, 4 wounded, in North Philly drive-by shooting

He called it a "senseless act of violence."

"We know that there are six people shot … that we are aware of. At least two have died from their wounds," Ross said.

The fatalities were identified Thursday as Niesha Cooper, 34, of the 2600 block of North Jessup Street, and Averill J. Davenport, 32, a Philadelphia rapper known as General Reezy from the 800 block of Passmore Street. Both were pronounced dead within minutes of each other at Temple University Hospital.

The other victims were men ranging in age from 27 to 51, officials said. They also went to Temple University Hospital, where one of them, a 30-year-old man, was reported in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the chest.

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"We have a surveillance video that shows a minivan, possibly gray in color, traveling westbound on Huntingdon, then south on 12th, reached this corner, then fired multiple rounds at a crowd that was standing there," Ross said.

The southeast corner of 12th and Huntingdon in this rowhouse neighborhood was littered with evidence markers denoting where shell casings had fallen. The scene was crowded late Wednesday night with police and investigators looking for clues.

Police had no immediate motive for the shooting and the commissioner said he was not aware of any interaction between the victims and the shooters before the barrage of gunfire.

"We have no indication of an argument, and so right now we don't know a lot," Ross said.

At least one of the firearms used, the commissioner said, was an assault weapon that fired "very scary looking rounds."

The commissioner said police would be looking for video of the shooting and the van's escape route.