0
2
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are searching for three men after investigators said one of them fired into a bar and fatally shot an innocent customer in the head.
It happened just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Philly Bar and Restaurant in Northeast Philadelphia.
The bar is in a shopping center - where the NetCost Market is located - on Welsh Road near Roosevelt Boulevard.
A witness told Action News that a group of men interrupted a game of pool and that the situation got heated.
Police said employees tried to kick three men out of the bar who were causing a disturbance, but one had to be forced out.
The man then walked to a pick-up truck, about 200 feet away, and fired 15 shots into the bar, police said.
All three men left the scene in the truck, which is described as black or dark in color.
Investigators said five of the bullets went through the front window, and one struck Jailene Holton, 21, in the head.
Police said she was hanging out with friends when they saw her fall to the ground.
Holton was taken into surgery but was pronounced dead a short time later.
James Holton, Jailene's uncle, said she was a good kid and was acting as the designated driver.
"She didn't go out often. Her friend called her up, she went out to Topgolf and then they came (to the Philly Bar and Restaurant). They were only going to be there for about 15 to 20 minutes and that's when the altercation broke out and whatever this guy started shooting," James Holton said.
Her family now joins many others who are grieving the loss of loved ones due to gun violence in the city.