Philadelphia shooting nears presidential debate as candidates discuss crime

A 23-year-old man was shot multiple times Tuesday afternoon on a SEPTA train platform beneath Philadelphia City Hall, less than a mile from the presidential debate stage.

Philadelphia police said Newsweek that a man was shot multiple times in the leg on the westbound platform of the 15th Street Station on the Market-Frankford Line in Center City shortly before 3:30 p.m. His condition was stabilized at nearby Jefferson University Hospital.

After the shooting, which police said was sparked by a fight in a “small group,” police arrested a 17-year-old. The 23-year-old is also in police custody, the police spokesman said.

“The crime scene has been secured and a suspect has been arrested,” the spokesman said. “A weapon has been confiscated.”

About two hours after the incident, SEPTA announced that “the police operation was over.” Streetcars had previously bypassed the station in both directions.

SEPTA had previously posted on its social media accounts that its service would be impacted due to the security zone surrounding the presidential debate site. Since protests were also planned near City Hall, city buses were being rerouted, according to SEPTA.

The National Constitution Center SEPTA stop at 5^th The closest stop to the debate is Street and Independence Hall Station. This station was already scheduled to remain closed for the duration of the event.

The shooting occurred just hours before the first – and possibly only – presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump and was a reminder that while crime has declined from its Covid-era peak, it remains a crucial issue in the campaign.

Trump has doubled down on his favorite campaign issues – immigration, inflation and crime – which Aaron Kall, debate director at the University of Michigan, said Newsweek This will likely be a central part of his strategy on the debate stage.

Trump often equates illegal immigration with crime and recently warned that deporting migrants from the United States would be a “bloody affair” if he is re-elected in November.

Last week, Trump announced at the Economy Club in New York that he would promise a “low crime rate.”

“I promise low taxes, little regulation, low energy costs, low interest rates, secure borders and very, very low crime,” Trump said. “My plan will quickly defeat inflation, quickly lower prices and restart explosive economic growth.”

Following the recent school massacre in Georgia, in which four people were killed, Trump, himself a victim of gun violence, posted on social media: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those affected.”

“These beloved children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster,” Trump posted.

The Republican candidate has promised to repeal gun laws initiated by President Joe Biden's administration.

Harris also deviated from her prepared remarks in her speech on the Apalachee High School shooting last week.

“It is simply outrageous that parents in the United States of America have to send their children to school every day and worry about whether or not they will come home alive,” Harris said.

“They're sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and yet part of their big, beautiful mind is worried about a shooter breaking through the door,” Harris said. “It doesn't have to be that way.”

She then recounted a personal experience earlier this year when she toured a school and spoke to students. Harris recalled asking how many of them had participated in school shooting drills. To her dismay, nearly every student raised their hand.

Trump has regularly claimed that former Attorney General Harris has a “soft” approach to crime fighting.

Harris voted for the First Step Act, which reduced some prison sentences and allowed certain prisoners to be released early, during her tenure as a senator in 2018. At the time, she said it was “a first step to righting the wrongs.”

The Trump administration passed the First Step Act in 2018.

She previously served as California Attorney General and San Francisco District Attorney. As district attorney and later as attorney general, Harris prosecuted cases involving murder, burglary, robbery and sexual assault.

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