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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Philadelphia police are investigating two separate shootings that they believe stem from parties at Airbnb properties in the city.
The first shooting happened in Kensington around 10 p.m. Monday.
“I was outside my house, and I heard a whole bunch of yelling, and then all of a sudden, I heard a whole bunch of gunshots and then a group of kids just running down the street,” said neighbor Nicole Miller, who called 911.
Police say between 50 to 100 people, many of them juveniles, were at a party at what appears to be an Airbnb property at Amber Street and Susquehanna Avenue.
Shell casings were found outside.
An 18-year-old victim was believed to have been at the Airbnb property before being shot. He was taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition.
“We’re trying to determine who actually rented the property at this point; we don’t know,” said Philadelphia Police Inspector Michael Gormley.
The second shooting happened around two hours later, at 11:50 p.m. Monday, in Strawberry Mansion.
Police were called for a large crowd at the property on North 29th Street and Cecil B Moore Avenue.
Police say there were dozens of people inside and outside the Airbnb property, including many juveniles. While officers were dispersing the crowd, they were told a girl had been shot.
Officers found the 13-year-old around the corner. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
An 18-year-old male was driven to the hospital by private vehicle after being shot in the legs.
“We did discover one spent shell casing inside the property while they were dispersing this crowd of individuals, which speaking to police supervision from this district, they know this property to be an Airbnb,” said Philadelphia Police Captain Nicholas Deblasis.
Neighbors want the city to crack down on these Airbnb properties.
“They’re putting too many of them out here, and they’re not safe, and they’re not even all legit. These kids are underage- don’t you have to be 18 or older to get an Airbnb?” asked Miller.
That is correct. According to Airbnb, “We all love to wander the world, but it’s against our Terms of Service for anyone under the age of 18 to create an account to travel or host.”
Last year, Airbnb launched anti-party technology, aimed at blocking people who try to use the rental platform to throw a party, but clearly not foolproof.
In April, City Council held a hearing on short-term rental properties rented through platforms like Airbnb. The hearing followed a growing number of complaints around a handful of properties that neighbors say are consistently causing problems from parties to violence.
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