Number of city homicides surpasses 2005 total

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, December, 2006 by Joel Bewley and Jan Hefler

A fatal shooting in Kensington and another in Fairhill overnight pushed Philadelphia's 2006 homicide tally beyond last year's total, police said this morning. Another murder was reported this afternoon, when an 18-year-old man was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in a home in Kensington. With 22 days remaining in the year, the city has had 383 homicide victims, three more than in all of last year.

Sean Frazier, 30, was found dead last night in the back yard by family members returning home to the 2100 block of East Elkhart Street at 11:20 p.m. He had been shot once in the back and was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital 15 minutes later, police said. Police believe the shooting was related to drugs. PCP, an animal tranquilizer, was found inside the house....