An arrest has been made in the shooting death of a 9-year-old boy inside a Philadelphia home.
Syiede Booker, 30, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, recklessly endangering another person, unsworn falsification, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.
On Tuesday, shortly before 10 p.m., 9-year-old Rajib Ingram was inside a home on the 5900 block of N. 20th Street when he was shot in the face. The boy was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said late Tuesday night that there was some "negligence" involved in the incident but did not go into further detail. Police interviewed everyone who was inside the home at the time of the shooting and later recovered the weapon.
Investigators later determined Booker had left the gun in a place inside the home where the boy and his brother could easily find it and initially lied about it to police.
“I cannot begin to imagine the heartbreak of this child’s mother, or the lifelong trauma of the 15-year-old who heard the deadly shot and found his young brother’s body," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
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"Kids and firearms do not belong anywhere near each other. I’m again urging Philadelphians with guns at home to keep them locked and out of reach of children.”
Booker is being held on $1.1 million bail.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence. Further information can be found here.
