Gang Violence Closes Community Pool in Philly

The community pool at a recreation center in Philadelphia is closed temporarily after a spate of gun violence in the neighborhood.

During one of the hottest months of the year, Belfield Pool has been drained and now sits empty after a shooting just around the corner last week.

Resident Beatrice Hickman, whose kids go to summer camp at Belfield, told the local NBC affiliate that it wasn’t fair that the pool had been closed, suggesting that the city needed to dispatch more police officers to the neighborhood.

“This is what we pay taxes for, to play in your own neighborhood,” Hickman said. “And it’s wrong.”

Kids were present during last week’s shooting, and investigators said the incident was part of ongoing violence between two local groups.

Officials at Belfield Recreation Center said that the facility was closed out of concerns for staff safety, as well as for that of the kids. They hope to reopen the pool in about a week.