Off-Duty Philadelphia Police Officer Killed in Southwest Philly

Off-Duty Philadelphia Police Officer Killed in Shooting Outside Southwest Philly Lounge

An off-duty Philadelphia police officer was killed and another man was critically injured in a shooting outside an after-hours lounge in Southwest Philadelphia early Sunday morning.

The shooting happened shortly before 4 a.m. Aug. 16 near South 73rd Street and Elmwood Avenue. Police found two men suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Both were transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where 29-year-old Philadelphia Police Officer Alhassane Barry was later pronounced dead. The second victim, a 35-year-old man, remained in critical condition.

Barry had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for two years and was assigned to the 12th District. Police have not said whether Barry and the other victim knew each other, and no suspect in the shooting has been arrested. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage as they work to determine what led to the gunfire.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel expressed his condolences to Barry’s family and fellow officers while urging anyone with information to come forward.

“We continue to ask the community for their prayers, we continue to pray for his family,” Bethel said.

Mayor Cherelle Parker also mourned Barry’s death and said the city would continue working to combat gun violence.

“Any loss to gun violence significantly impacts us all. We will never stop working to make Philadelphia a safer city,” Parker said.

Bethel described the case as a homicide investigation and expressed confidence that investigators would identify those responsible. “We’re confident we will find the individuals who did this,” he said.

Barry’s funeral service was scheduled for Monday at a mosque in Southwest Philadelphia, just blocks from where he was killed.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Philadelphia Police Department’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).

Off-Duty Philadelphia Police Officer Killed in Shooting Outside Southwest Philly Lounge was originally published on rnbphilly.com