PHILADELPHIA – He wanted money; she had none. So he told the 18-year-old woman, waiting for a bus, that he would get something, and he raped her at gunpoint, warning that he would shoot her when he was done, police said.

Within minutes, a series of events left the rape victim shot and two good Samaritans dead. The man accused of the crimes was arrested by two officers who chased him down.

Police said Anthony Burno, 48 – whom a friend described as “the nicest guy you could know” – and his girlfriend, Kira Derrick, 29, were returning to his apartment when they saw the young woman break free from her assailant late Wednesday.

The woman “was screaming that the subject raped her and had threatened to kill her,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Fox said during a news conference Thursday.

The victim ran toward Burno and Derrick – each the parent of two children – and then all three ran as the gunman raised his .45-caliber semiautomatic and released a barrage of bullets, police said.

Burno and Derrick died at the scene. The other woman was shot in an arm but got away.

Kevin White, 28, has been charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder, rape and related offenses. Court records show that White was twice arrested on assault charges in 1998, but they were dismissed. He also has a case pending on charges of endangering the welfare of children and simple assault.

The killings were among several shootings overnight that also left another man dead and many others injured in unrelated attacks across the city.

The rape victim told police that she was waiting for a bus and had crossed the street when her assailant approached. He forced her at gunpoint to an alley about 11:40 p.m., police said.

As Burno and Derrick were returning home after an evening out, the assailant spotted them and ordered the victim to act as if she were his girlfriend, police said. Instead, she broke free and screamed for help, and Burno and Derrick started toward her as she ran toward them.

Faith Canady, who lives nearby, said she heard the shots and “somebody yelling, ‘Help!’ You could see the flashes from the gun.”

Officers Timothy McGonigle and Richard Redanauer responded to reports of gunfire and spotted White, Homicide Sgt. Bob Wilkins said. After a short chase, they caught him and found a weapon, Wilkins said.

The rape victim ran to a nearby apartment for help. A man there said he was watching television when he heard the shots and the victim “hollering and screaming” before she knocked on his window.

The 18-year-old man, who would give his name only as Terrell, said he helped the woman onto his couch, turned off the lights, and called police.

“She had gunshots to her arm and leg,” Terrell said. “She said two other people got shot. She said, ‘Help me, please.”‘

Another neighbor, Caesar Rowe, 42, said Burno worked as a cook and in food-service jobs at Temple University and a restaurant.

“He was my best friend, and he was very happy,” Rowe said.

He said he and Burno sang at area bars and restaurants on karaoke nights, and had planned a trip to Las Vegas or the Caribbean in December.

Burno has a teenage son and daughter in Philadelphia, and had been dating Derrick about two years, neighbors said.

Authorities said they believed Derrick, who worked for the Social Security Administration, had moved to the Philadelphia area about two years ago.

Reached in Texas, Derrick’s ex-husband Dante Reed said she was quiet and friendly.

He said that Derrick was from Philadelphia and that her parents moved to Texas years ago. She graduated from Plano High School, about 16 miles north of Dallas, and attended Collin County Community College for two years, he said.

Her children, from another marriage, are about 2 and 4 and are in the Atlanta area, where she worked until she came back to Philadelphia, he said.

“If you opened up to her, she would open up to you, and you would end up being good friends with her,” Reed said.

At the shooting scene, thick bloodstains and several pairs of rubber gloves and other medical gear that had been used by rescue workers lay in the street.

Canady said the neighborhood had become increasingly dangerous over the last few years, mostly from petty crimes. This was the first time someone had been shot in the block, she said.

“I don’t even come out of my house at night now,” she said.