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Tag: Philadelphia.

  • Church building totally burnt to ashes

    Church building totally burnt to ashes

    Despite the efforts of nearly 150 firefighters, a church in New Jersey was completely destroyed by a terrible fire.

    In Florence Township, New Jersey, a large fire broke out at the Fountain of Life Center church and Christian school on Monday evening as the sun was setting.

    When the fire was discovered at 6 o’clock on Monday night, first responders quickly raised the alert to four.
    By 7.30 p.m., local firemen sent a call for reinforcements from neighboring counties, and it was upgraded to the fifth alarm.

    ‘It was just the size of the building the amount of fire that was here – we had to switch our operation to a defensive operation,’ Florence Township Fire District Administrator Robert Tharp said.

    The church, located about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, has a congregation of about 1,000 members. It is the center of a campus also houses a K-12 primary school called the Life Center Academy.

    Firefighters were able to save the school, but classes were cancelled for the foreseeable future as firefighters continue to put out hot spots and assess the damage.

    The Florence Fire Department reported they were still on the site as late as Tuesday afternoon.

    No injuries were reported in the fire. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire.

    Images from the aftermath show the completely burned-out remains of the megachurch within the 120,000-square-foot complex.

    Senior Pastor Russell Hodgins called the fire a ‘devastating loss’ for his church.

    The sanctuary’s just been completely burned,’ Hodgins told CBS Philadelphia. ‘The roof collapsing is a pretty embedded image in my mind.’

    Despite the immediate damage, church leaders announced that services would still be held on the property next Sunday.

    ‘The church is not brick and mortar, the church is really the body of believers,’ Hodgins told the local station.

  • Simmons knows ‘what’s coming’ in Philly after season-best showing

    Ben Simmons has little doubt what is in store for him when he returns to the Philadelphia 76ers this week, having finally found form with the Brooklyn Nets.

    An ugly stand-off between Simmons and the 76ers eventually came to an end in February when he was traded to the Nets in the deal that took James Harden to Philly.

    The messy exit was in the best interests of both parties, but Simmons acknowledged there will be little love lost from a typically boisterous Philadelphia crowd when the teams meet on Tuesday.

    “In Philly?” Simmons replied with a sarcastic smile when asked if enough time had elapsed that he might not get an unfriendly reception. “Come on now. I know what’s coming.”

    Despite his expectations of hostility, Simmons talked up the passion of Philadelphia sports fans.

    “One thing about Philly fans, they’re incredible. They’re diehard Philly. I respect that about the city. It’s a sports town,” Simmons said.

    “I was 18 years old coming into Philly, so it’s really the only place I’ve lived as an adult. I’ve got a lot of love for that city.

    “People don’t know that, but a lot of my best friends are from Philadelphia. My brother still lives in Philadelphia. So, regardless of the [basketball] situation, and whatever happened happened, but I’ve got a lot of love for that city. I look forward to going down there and playing.”

    For Simmons, the timing of the game could hardly be better given he is starting to find his groove again.

    Coming off a season-best performance against the Portland Trail Blazers last time out, Simmons went even better with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Nets downed the Memphis Grizzlies 127-115 on Sunday.

    It means he has 37 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists over his past two games. It took him until the 10th game this season to even put up a double-figure points return, while the last time he had a 20-point game was with the 76ers in the first round of the 2021 playoffs.

    “It takes time,” Simmons said about his improvement.

    “I’m just trying to build my consistency. Stay focused on what I can do. I know what I can do. I know what I’m capable of. I’m not surprised [I’m playing well].”

  • Rivers claims he has never seen anything like Embiid’s performance against Jazz

    Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has never seen anything like Joel Embiid’s performance at both ends in Sunday’s 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz.

    Embiid scored a career-best 59 points, with a joint career-high seven blocks, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.

    The Cameroonian scored 26 of Philadelphia’s 27 final quarter points and more than half their total score, a feat not achieved in the NBA since Damian Lillard in 2019.

    “I’ve seen a guy score a lot of points,” Rivers told reporters. “I haven’t seen guys score a lot of points, rebound, and then the blocked shots. That was impressive.

    “He was just getting everything. I’ve never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defense and offense.”

    Embiid’s teammates were left in awe too, with Matisse Thybulle labelling his stat line as “pretty ridiculous”.

    “It’s absurd. Actually, my friends were texting me after the game and they were like ‘It’s like a 2K stat line’ and it’s not one of those things you see in a real basketball game,” Thybulle said.

    “It’s like when you pick one player on 2K and just do everything with him. It’s pretty ridiculous if I’m being honest. It’s amazing.”

    Embiid’s 59 points is the best in the NBA this season, exceeding Darius Garland’s mark of 51 set earlier on Sunday in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 129-124 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

    Despite his monstrous performance, Embiid played down the significance of his individual display.

    “This is not about me. We did it as a team,” the 28-year-old center said. “Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions, and obviously, my teammates fed me the ball. I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing.

    “Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates just being in the right spots and trusting me and giving me the ball.”

    Embiid shot 19-of-28 from the field including making a three-pointer, which reinforced to him that it was going to be his game.

    “When I finally made a three [I knew it was going to be a big game] because I’ve been shooting the ball so bad this year from three,” he said.

    “It was early in the game. I saw how they were guarding me. Just like last night, I’ll take that every night. If they’re not gonna double team as much, I hope every team does it so I’ll take it, but from the beginning… Obviously, in the fourth quarter with the game being so close, I just wanted to do whatever it took.”

  • Former Sheriff’s deputy arrested for allegedly selling guns used in shooting outside school

    A former Philadelphia sheriff’s deputy is facing federal gun trafficking charges after he allegedly sold weapons to an FBI informant.

    The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Samir Ahmad, a four-year veteran, was arrested and charged with firearms trafficking and selling firearms to a person unlawfully in the United States.

    Ahmad, 29, is accused of selling two handguns to a confidential informant on Oct. 13, while he was a sworn law enforcement officer as a deputy sheriff.

    During Ahmad’s exchange with the undercover agent, the informant told the sheriff’s deputy he could “get deported” if he was caught in possession of a gun. Ahmad, who made $3,000 off the sale, responded, “You don’t got to worry about none of that.”

    Federal prosecutors traced the two pistols to a recent shooting that took place outside Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, which left one teenager killed and four others wounded.

    “Samir Ahmad abused his authority—to the greatest extent possible—as a sworn law enforcement officer,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in an official statement. “The defendant was allegedly illegally selling firearms on the street to at least one person who was not permitted to possess them, adding fuel to the already-incendiary fire of deadly gun violence in the City of Philadelphia. Working with our law enforcement partners, we are doing all that we can to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the violence.”

    Ahmad, who was employed with the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office since February 2018, was terminated on Oct. 19, the same day he was arrested by federal agents.

    If convicted, Ahmad faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison.

    Source” Complex.com

  • PnB Rock murder investigators reportedly looking into possibility of ‘Known Enemies’ being responsible

    The ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting of PnB Rock earlier this month is now moving in multiple directions at once, local police sources have claimed.

    Early Wednesday, TMZ shared a report citing LAPD sources in which it was claimed that one potential direction centers on learning more about potential “known enemies.” Specifically, investigators in the case are alleged to be looking deeply into Atlanta and Philadelphia. The latter, of course, was Rock’s hometown.

    In short, these sources are suggesting that law enforcement is exploring the possibility of Rock’s killing having been a more intentional and planned action rather than a spur-of-the-moment fatal robbery. As previously reported, the 30-year-old artist was robbed and killed at a Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’N Waffles location in Los Angeles on Sept. 12.

    As investigators continue to seek information on the getaway as part of an effort to identify possible suspects in the shooting, per the new report, chatter surrounding baselessly theorized involvement from Rock’s girlfriend has been shut down by police sources. Rock’s girlfriend, Stephanie, had been reported to have tagged her and Rock’s location on the day of the shooting.

    Source: Complex.com