Tiffany Fletcher.Photo: Facebook
Tiffany Fletcher was sweeping the playground at the West Philadelphia recreation center where she worked, getting ready for students to come to play Friday afternoon when shots rang out.
About 1:30 p.m., a shootout erupted near the Mill Creek Playground on Brown and 47th streets, according to a statement from the Philadelphia Police Department.
Fletcher, 41, a Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Pool Maintenance Attendant and mother of three boys, was caught in the crossfire.
A 14-year-old was allegedly seen dropping a gun near the scene, Police Capt. John Walker said,The Philadelphia Inquirerreports, and was taken into custody.
Police recovered the weapon, which officials say is a “ghost gun,” an untraceable firearm with no serial number,CBS Philadelphiareports.
He is being charged as an adult, say police.
“I’m just hurt,” Fletcher’s cousin, Rollie Rolex said Saturday at a vigil for her in Philadelphia where more than 100 people showed up to honor her,Fox 29reports.
“I’m just devastated, Rolex said. “She was a good person. A good soul. It was just senseless.”
Fletcher “lived down the street from Mill Creek and lost her life while doing her part to give the children in her community access to a safe, clean, fun place to play,” aGoFundMeset up to help her three boys says.
“Her kindness, dedication, and energy will have a lasting impact on the entire Mill Creek community and all those who knew her.”
In astatement issued Friday night, Mayor Jim Kenney said, “Our hearts are incredibly heavy tonight.”
“Today, like every day, Tiffany went to work at Millcreek Rec Center to serve the community and people she loved, and serve as a role model for her children,” Kenney said.
“Now, a family is left grief stricken, colleagues are in mourning, and a community is left to cope with this unimaginable loss,” he said. “I share my deepest condolences with those who knew and loved Tiffany.”
As police continue to investigate, Fletcher’s family is grappling with the loss of the woman who devoted her life to her children and her community.
“My aunt was a wonderful mother,” Fletcher’s niece, Jane Washington, said, CBS Philadelphia reports. “She was a wonderful aunt, sister, daughter.
“Tiffany Fletcher was a good woman to everybody,” she continued. “She was a friend. She was an advocate and she worked hard to serve for her own community, which we grew up in.”
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“I know these guys are heartless and cold and cruel,” Kenney said at a press conference on Monday, “but I’m telling you if we don’t get this information, we can’t move forward.”
Officials are also trying to put a stop to gun violence.
“Unfortunately, we have seen this tragedy play out in our neighborhoods repeatedly, near places like rec centers that should be safe and sacrosanct so children can learn, grow, and play,” Kenney said in the statement.
“That’s one of the reasons the City now offers a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of someone who fires a weapon within 500 feet of a school, rec center, or library,” the statement continues.
The teen suspect is being held in a juvenile detention center as he awaits his next court date on Sept. 29. He has not yet entered a plea. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Anyone with information about this shooting can report it anonymously to 215-686-TIPS.
source: people.com
