13 people, including 7 teens, were shot over the weekend in Philly, and Mayor Parker vowed to combat gun violence
Those killed included a17-year-old who was shot to death in Southwest Philadelphia, and an elderly couple who died in a suspected murder-suicide.
After 13 people were shot in Philadelphia over the weekend and three people — including a 17-year-old girl — were killed, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker decried the violence and vowed to work to curb it.
”Every shooting and homicide in Philadelphia personally pains me as mayor of the city and each and every member of the administration,” Parker said in a news conference Monday afternoon. “These are human beings we are talking about and not statistics, and we grieve their loss and suffering.”
Those killed included the 17-year-old, who was shot to death in Southwest Philadelphia, and an elderly couple who died in a suspected murder-suicide in West Mount Airy.
At 11:40 p.m. Friday, police responded to reports of a shooting on the 7000 block of Elmwood Avenue and found Jada Gray, 17, with a gunshot wound to her chest, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:58 p.m., police said.
Police believe Gray was shot during an attempted robbery, said Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore, and there is surveillance footage of the suspected shooter dressed all in black fleeing the crime scene.
No arrests have been made and no weapons were recovered.
On Saturday afternoon in East Mount Airy, three teen boys were injured in a shooting at Finley Recreation Center, on the 900 block of East Upsal Street, and taken to Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, Vanore said.
Police believe two groups of young people gathered at the recreation center started fighting when one group played music that offended the other, and the argument over the music sparked the shooting, Vanore said.
Gunfire erupted just after 5 p.m. that day, and a 15-year-old was shot in the chest and was in critical condition, police said. A 14-year-old was shot in his right thigh and a 16-year-old was grazed in the face by a bullet, police said. Both teens were in stable condition, police said.
The three teens were initially expected to face charges, but were later released, said Vanore. There were no arrests or criminal charges as of Monday evening.
On Sunday afternoon around 1 p.m., a 15-year-old boy was shot in the forearm as he left a service celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, in North Philadelphia, Vanore said.
The teen was walking on the 1600 block of North Broad Street when someone nearby on Cecil B. Moore Avenue fired shots toward a group of people, striking the teen, who was not a target, he said. The teen was taken to a local hospital and was in stable condition.
And late Sunday night, two teens were shot in Oxford Circle.
Police responded to a report of a shooting on the 1900 block of Hellerman Street just after 10:30 p.m., police said. When officers arrived, they found four 9mm shell casings on the street, and witnesses told them that a 17-year-old had been shot and taken to Nazareth Hospital, police said.
The boy had been shot in his right hip, police said, and he was in stable condition at the hospital. The teen was later transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, police said.
While officers were at the scene of the shooting, a 14-year-old boy told them that he had suffered a graze wound to the leg and he was taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital and also listed in stable condition, police said.
So far this year, 25 young people under the age of 18 have been shot in the city, nearly half of them struck by bullets this month. That total number of shootings in Philadelphia is slightly down from the same time last year, when there were 29 juvenile shooting victims by March 30 police data shows.
While shootings and homicides continue to trend downward in Philadelphia, mirroring a national trend, the mayor said the city still experienced too much bloodshed.
“We cannot and will not rest — and I won’t, as mayor,” Parker said, “until every resident in every neighborhood feels safe in their homes, going to school, or walking in their community.”
Another teen was accidentally shot Monday afternoon on B Street in Feltonville. Police found a 13-year-old boy with a gunshot would on the left side of his face. He was in critical condition at Temple University Hospital.