'That's Dope City,' neighbors at double shooting scene claim

Shots rang out Monday afternoon in Camden, but neighbors weren't surprised.

CAMDEN -- The gunfire didn't seem to shock too many neighbors near the corner of 6th and Walnut streets. While the audible "boom" of a muzzle blast certainly startled some, the act of firing a weapon in a residential area -- not so much.

After all, the vacant lot about a block off Broadway that Camden County authorities combed for clues Monday afternoon was dubbed "Dope City" by some in the area.

"Everybody knows what it is," one nearby resident who didn't wish to be identified said around 3 p.m. Monday. "That's 'Heroin Alley.'"

Camden County police photographed the scene of the double non-fatal shooting as a helicopter hovered overhead. Camden County Police Department spokesman Dan Keashen said one of the victims was taken to Cooper University Hospital and is listed in critical condition. The other victim was said not to be in critical condition.

A home near the intersection of 6th and Walnut streets appeared to be closely inspected by authorities, however the incident remains under investigation and police could not offer additional comment.

Camden City logged its 42nd homicide of 2016 late Saturday when city man Tyrone Fooks, 32, was gunned down outside the Independence Village Apartments complex.

At least 14 evidence markers doted 6th Street near the Cherry Street intersection and two police K-9s could be seen in and around the area where neighbors reported hearing gunfire.

"How could you miss it," a man who has lived along Walnut Street for at least two decades and didn't wish to provide his name questioned of the gunfire.

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He was outside cleaning a vacuum cleaner when he reported hearing eight or nine shots ring out, prompting him to dive for cover behind his own porch.

"This is about the third time in two months," he said of gunplay in the area, adding that he's seen alleged dealers dropped off in the morning and tools of the drug trade hidden in the nearby alley.

Moreover, "you can't stop" the influx of suburbanites from towns like Gloucester City or Cherry Hill from coming into Camden to score, he said.

"That corner right there," he said, pausing to point down his block toward police cruisers with overhead lights blazing in a dim afternoon light. "It's a drug corner."