March 08, 2024
GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS; USA TODAY NETWORK
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro reacted to a spate of violent incidents in Philadelphia, including the mass shooting at a Northeast Philly bus stop, during a speech at West Chester University on Thursday. The photo above is a file shot.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has ideas on how to combat gun violence in Philadelphia, but deploying the National Guard is not one of them.
Though New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is sending the National Guard and state police to patrol New York City subways, SEPTA won't receive the same treatment.
"I have no plans to deploy the National Guard on the streets of Philadelphia," Shapiro told the Inquirer on Thursday morning. Shapiro later urged state lawmakers to take action while speaking at an event at West Chester University.
On Wednesday, eight teenagers were wounded during a shooting at a SEPTA bus stop in Northeast Philadelphia. It was the fourth straight day that there was a shooting on a SEPTA bus or at a bus stop.
"I do not accept this as normal," Shapiro said at West Chester, addressing Wednesday's mass shooting. "Those kids should have gotten home. ... They should not have been shot on the streets of Philadelphia."
There were 410 homicides recorded last year in Philadelphia, according to police data. That total fell for the second straight year, and is well below the record 562 homicides in 2021, but it is above pre-pandemic figures. There were 353 homicides in 2019.
Shapiro touted the violence prevention grants for neighborhood organizations and increased education funding in his proposed budget, which must be passed by state lawmakers to take effect.
"There is no one thing that is going to fix this problem, but we've got to come at it in a multitude of ways," Shapiro said.
Though Shapiro may not utilize the National Guard to mitigate violence in Philly, he heralded his administration's hiring of 400 state troopers, and asked state lawmakers to approve the hiring of 400 more.
"We will deploy them as needed in Pennsylvania," Shapiro said.
On their end, Philly officials have indicated an increased law enforcement presence on SEPTA's transit system and the city as a whole. Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore told press on Thursday that Philly police will conduct more "SEPTA checks," while SEPTA police will take an "aggressive" approach to combating violence.
Late last year, Shapiro also said he would not send the National Guard to Kensington to combat the drug market, a measure that Mayor Cherelle Parker suggested after her election.
