Decapitated body of Philadelphia woman found on kitchen floor; police arrested her partner



A woman in Philadelphia recalled her horror when she found her neighbor, a mother of two teenagers, decapitated on the kitchen floor of her apartment.

Mary Liz told WPVI-TV that she thought she was going to help her neighbor when she went to her home, but, instead, she saw a disturbingly gruesome sight.

"I'm here thinking I'm going to go apply pressure to the wound while I called the cops to help her out. I'm not thinking that I'm going to see what I saw," said Liz.

She said she went to the home after getting a phone call for help. She rents an apartment in the back of the same house.

She found her neighbor, 41-year-old Leila al Raheel, decapitated on the floor of her kitchen.

"It was a very horrible experience," she added, saying she was still in a state of shock.

When police arrived at about 12:45 p.m., they identified the victim's domestic partner as a person of interest and were able to detain him several blocks from the home. Neighbors told the news media that he had fled on foot.

Police arrested 24-year-old Ahmad Shareef and charged him with murder and desecration of a corpse.

\u201c#UPDATE: @PhillyPolice announce arrest of 38-yo Ahmad Shareef charged w/ murder and other offenses. Police say he decapitated his partner, 41 yo Leila Al Raheel Tues in NE Philly on Magee Ave. Shareef was found several blocks away. Police have recovered a knife. @CBSPhiladelphia\u201d
— Ryan Hughes (@Ryan Hughes) 1669826111

WPVI-TV reported that sources told them Shareef had been involved in numerous domestic violence incidents with family members.

One neighbor told WRC-TV that the victim had been treated like a slave and that one family in the neighborhood had moved away after Shareef had run out of the house half naked and threatened neighbors numerous times.

"There's always fights," Nyjha Richardson said. "Always quarrels. People in and out of the house constantly. It's never good. The yellow house is the worst house on the block!"

Liz said that she plans to look after the two teenage daughters of the victim who are now without a mother.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

'Horrible experience': Neighbor recalls finding woman decapitated inside Philadelphia homewww.youtube.com

Gun-toting crook carjacks Philly cop; off-duty officer shoots 7 times as SUV speeds away. Later, cop's vehicle found on fire; shot 15-year-old reportedly is suspect.



After an off-duty Philadelphia police officer was carjacked at gunpoint early Friday morning, the officer shot seven times at his SUV as it sped away. Hours later his SUV was found on fire — and a 15-year-old who was dropped off at a hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand is being held as a suspect.

What are the details?

The officer was coming home after his shift and wasn't in uniform, WTXF-TV's Steve Keeley said during the station's report.

The officer said he was parking his Silver 2020 Toyota Highlander around 12:15 a.m. when a suspect with a gun stopped him, reached into the officer's pockets to grab his keys, then stole his vehicle, WXTF reported, citing Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Keeley said the suspect was dressed in a hoodie and was armed with a Glock handgun.

As the suspect made off with the cop's car, the officer fired seven times, hitting the driver’s side of the vehicle, KYW-TV reported, adding that it isn't known whether the carjacker was hit.

The suspect then crashed the officer's car into unattended parked cars near the intersection of 56th and Pentridge Streets in the southwest part of the city and then continued north on 56th Street, WTXF said, citing police.

\u201cSeconds after wounded carjacker tried to speed away in \u2066@PhillyPolice\u2069 Off-Duty officer\u2019s Toyota Highlander, @phillypolice sources tell FOX29 News he crashed into these 3 vehicles on corner officer\u2019s block on Pentridge Street. Driving with hand shot. \u2066@FOX29philly\u2069\u201d
— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1655465819

Hours later, a vehicle was found burning in west Philadelphia, and it was identified as the officer's car, WTXF reported.

Suspect allegedly found

WTXF added that sources told Keeley that a 15-year-old who was dropped off at a hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand after the carjacking is being held as a suspect.

'I just heard screams': Mass shooting in Philadelphia leaves 3 dead and 11 wounded; fast-acting cop engages shooter to prevent more deaths



There was a mass shooting in Philadelphia on Saturday night that left three people dead and 11 wounded. More people could have been shot if not for a fast-acting cop that engaged one of the multiple shooters.

Huge crowds gathered at Philly's popular South Street area filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. However, the party-like atmosphere instantly turned into chaos as gunshots rang out in the entertainment area shortly before midnight.

"There were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street, as they do every single weekend, when the shooting broke out," Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace told reporters.

Surveillance camera video shows the moment that gunfire erupts and causes the crowd to run for their lives.

\u201cSurveillance video from a local business shows pandemonium after shots ring out near South & 3rd streets in Philadelphia last night just before midnight.\u201d
— Marcus Espinoza (@Marcus Espinoza) 1654432725

WTXF-TV reporter Marcus Espinoza shared a screenshot of surveillance footage that reportedly shows a possible gunfight between two shooters.

\u201cIn this screenshot from another angle of the surveillance footage Fox 29 obtained, you can see where the red circle is someone returning fire after shots initially fired into the crowd from opposite direction. At least two shots returned.\u201d
— Marcus Espinoza (@Marcus Espinoza) 1654436561

"I want to emphasize that South Street is manned by numerous police officers," Pace added. "This is standard deployment for Friday and Saturday night - weekends - and especially during the summer months."

According to Pace, one of those police officers was "within 10 to 15 yards of the shooter" and witnessed the gunman shoot into the crowd. The cop fired at the shooter three times, which caused the gunman to drop their firearm and flee the crime scene.

\u201c#BreakingNews UPDATE from @NBCPhiladelphia on #Philly Shooting on South Street @PhillyPolice say officers on patrol saw several \u201cactive shooters\u201d firing into crowd, 14 people were shot, 3 of them are dead\u2026No word on motive\u2026 An officer fired at one of shooters - take a listen:\u201d
— Rosemary Connors (@Rosemary Connors) 1654414112

Law enforcement officials say that there were "several active shooters."

A 22-year-old man, 34-year-old man, and 26-year-old woman were shot multiple times and died at the hospital, according to WPVI-TV.

Jefferson Hospital's trauma center reportedly became so overwhelmed with gunshot victims that it had to turn away people.

\u201cSOUTH STREET MASS SHOOTING\n- 3 people are dead, 2 men and a woman\n- At least 11 more were shot\n- 7 victims were taken to Jefferson Hospital \n- Police shot at one of the gunmen, that person ran away. It\u2019s unknown if they were shot \n@6abc\u201d
— Beccah Hendrickson (@Beccah Hendrickson) 1654428142

Witness Joe Smith told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Once it started I didn’t think it was going to stop. There was guttural screaming. I just heard screams."

Witness Eric Walsh said, "It was chaos. People were coming off the street with blood splatters on white sneakers and skinned knees and skinned elbows. We literally just were balling up napkins and wetting them and handing them to people."

Police recovered two guns at the crime scene – one of which had an extended magazine.

Around 11 p.m., there was a shooting a few blocks away – where police found 13 bullet casings, according to WCAU. Police are attempting to determine if the two shootings are connected.

There were no arrests by Sunday morning, and police are still searching for the gunmen.

As of Saturday, there were 211 homicides in Philadelphia this year, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. The number of homicides is down 6% percent from last year, which was the deadliest in the history of the city.

\u201cSaturday night in Philadelphia. A mass shooting on 4th & South Street with reports of nearly a dozen people shot. I\u2019m on scene where police have cordoned off the popular weekend strip, a trail of what appears to be blood snaking along the sidewalk in front of a Rita\u2019s Water Ice.\u201d
— Max M. Marin (@Max M. Marin) 1654406843