Police identified the man who is suspected of shooting two teens, killing one, Tuesday afternoon inside Wilmington Hospital as a23-year-old from New Castle, Del.
JohnWallace-Bey was arrested Tuesday night in Philadelphia and is pending extradition to Delaware, Wilmington police said in a statement. He was expected tobe charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
Wallace-Bey is accused of shooting two 19-year-old men, one of whom died from his injuries the night of the shooting and one of whom remained in critical condition. Police did not identify the victims.
Wilmington police believe this was “a targeted, isolated incident,” according to the statement, which did not say more about what might have led to the shooting.
Police responded to reports of the shooting at the hospital at 501 W. 14th St. around 3:30 p.m., Police Chief Wilfredo Campos said at a Tuesday evening news briefing.
The hospital, which is run by ChristianaCare, was locked down until police cleared the buildinglater Tuesday, Campos said.
A 71-year-old man was charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation of a 40-year-old woman in Franklin Township, Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew B. Johns said Monday.
Police arrived at an East Avenue home at 6:16 a.m. on Thursday after Dennis J. Hall called to alert them to the fact that Devin Hall was not breathing. Dennis Hall admitted to strangling her on the call to emergency services and to officers when they arrived at the scene, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
A witness also told Franklin Township officers Dennis Hall woke them up the morning of the incident and admitted to strangling Devin Hall.
Prosecutors would not say whether the two Halls were related, but Jan Hall, the wife of Dennis Hall and mother of Devin Hall, told 6abc her husband woke her up, saying he had killed their daughter.
“When he woke me up, I asked him what was wrong, and he said, ‘I strangled Devin. She’s dead.’ And I thought I didn’t hear him right,” she told the station.
Officers tried to save Devin Hall and she was taken to a local hospital. The following day, she was removed from life support and declared dead, according to the statement.
On Sunday, the Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland regional medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of death was asphyxiation by homicide.
Dennis Hall was arrested at the scene and initially charged with attempted murder, then first-degree murder following the autopsy report.
He was in jail pending prosecutors’ motion for a pretrial detention. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
A stampede of tiny Croc shoes displaying ice cream and hamburger Jibbitz raced through an interactive structure at Sister Cities Park in Center City on a sunny Thursday morning.
“Philadelphia changed the world,” read an etching at the front of the play structure. “Ready to see how?”
Little red and blue gingham skirts fluttered in and out of wooden doorframes as 75 preschoolers explored a brand-new play arena that featured a series of colorful, translucent posters highlighting inventions from Philadelphians, including the Slinky, the revolving door, and the public library.
Panels inside the structure showcased inventions spurred by the imaginations of children, such as Popsicles, earmuffs, and trampolines.
The Sister Cities Park installation is one of 11 educational structures geared toward children placedat landmarks around the city. The series is an effort to further the city’s commitment to children’s engagement in public places and solidify its status as a great city for kids, as well as to celebrate the nation’s Semiquincentennial. Itwas unveiled June 11, a day the United Nations designated in 2024 as International Day of Play.
The bundle of installations includes colorful wheels at the Philadelphia Zoo teaching kids about animal species, a set of tabletops at Reading Terminal Market featuring displays about colors and tastes, and arton fencing at the Franklin Institute instructing children how to find different constellations in the night sky.
The final three installations — at Franklin Square, the National Constitution Center, and Elfreth’s Alley — have yet to be installed and are coming soon, according to the project website.
The goal is to keep Philadelphia a city on the forefront of children’s enrichment and one that makes it publicly available for all kids in the city to benefit from, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said at the unveiling of the Sister Cities Park installation.
“This idea that our children can have places and spaces where they can feel safe, supported, and seen, and free to just be children, is extremely important to me,” Parker said. “Truly great cities invest in their children.”
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, right, hugs Raechel O’Neal Coats, director of the Friends Childcare Center, left, at the unveiling of a new playful learning hub at Sister Cities Park in Center City, Philadelphia, June 11, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Sarah Lytle, executive director of Playful Learning Landscapes, a nonprofit that helps U.S. cities convert ordinary spaces into learning hubs, presented Parker with documentation of a new designation for the city — World’s First Playful Learning City.
Moments later, Parker ripped a red, white, and blue paper-link chain and a procession of kids tore through the new installation, quickly getting to work weaving in and out of its pillars and standing on tippy-toes to doodle on chalkboards affixed to the structure’s middle section.
The Sister Cities event was finished off with words from whom else but the city’s most renowned tinkerer and inventor, Ben Franklin (or, technically, James Longacre, who specializes in lectures, TV commercials, and ribbon-cuttings performing as Ben Franklin).
He thanked Parker for securing Philadelphia’s latest special designation and “for reminding our city that a spark of curiosity is brightest when struck with a bit of play.”
As quickly as the kids barreled toward the structure to inaugurate its first playtime, they returned to teachers and aides — ice pops, toy boats, and bottles of bubbles in hand, ready to be entertained anew. Dozens of tiny hands grasped a rainbow-colored rope and teachers ushered the students back up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and onto their next adventure.
