With three teens shot in a 24 hour span late this week, the number of children shooting victims in Philadelphia continues to trend higher than the year before.
Since Jan. 1, 89 children ages 17 and younger have been shot in the city, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. The number represents a 39-percent jump since the same time last year.
Eighteen child shooting victims have died. The most recent homicide victim was 15-year-old Rasul Benson, who was shot along with another 15-year-old boy at a South Philadelphia gas station Thursday night.
The other boy was critically wounded. He remains hospitalized.
Benson's family and neighbors held a vigil Friday night calling for peace.
"I don’t know what we’re going to do as parents, but this violence has to stop," Rose High, Benson's cousin, told a crowd.
