A 16-year-old was fatally shot near his home in North Philadelphia
Shootings of children in Philadelphia have steadily risen in recent years.
A 16-year-old was fatally shot Thursday night in North Philadelphia as the city’s ongoing gun violence crisis continues to claim the lives of young people.
Nafis Betrand-Hill was just a half a block away from home, standing outside with a small group of people around 9 p.m. near 23rd Street and West Montgomery Avenue, when a gray Nissan pulled up and two young men jumped out and started shooting, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.
Betrand-Hill was struck multiple times, Vanore said. Police rushed him to Temple University Hospital, where he died a short time later.
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The shooters fled in the Nissan, which was recovered by police Thursday night near 24th Street and Glenwood Avenue, Vanore said. Inside the car, police recovered a handgun, he said. He declined to share any details on the owner of the car, but said detectives have recovered video of the shooting and are reviewing that and other evidence.
“The motive behind this is completely unknown,” Vanore said.
The teen’s family declined to speak Friday as they grappled with their loss.
By Friday morning, the scene of the shooting — outside Acelero Learning St. Elizabeth’s School — was cleared, except for remnants of yellow crime-scene tape.
Seven children under 18, including Betrand-Hill, have died by gun violence in the city so far this year. More than 40 juveniles have been shot, according to data from the City Controller’s Office.
The other victims have included: Semaj Richardson, 16; Shaheed Saoud, 16; Isaiah Odom, 17; Neko Rivera, 15; Anthony Pinckney, 14; and Devin Weedon, 15.
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Shootings of children in Philadelphia have steadily risen in recent years. Last year, 217 children were shot, 30 fatally, the most of any year in recent memory, and a 44% increase over 2019, when 120 children were struck by gunfire.
The Philadelphia School District said this week that more than 100 students of public and charter schools have been injured in shootings this academic year.
Within just four blocks of where Betrand-Hill was killed, three juveniles were shot in separate incidents earlier this year. A 17-year-old was wounded in a shooting in early January, and a 17- and 13-year-old were shot while walking home from school in February — both incidents were at 19th Street and West Montgomery Avenue.
Overall, 120 people have died in homicides in Philadelphia this year — a 9% decrease compared to the same time last year, but nearly double the number recorded in 2015.