A 17-year-old boy is fighting for his life while a 13-year-old girl is recovering following a double shooting near the memorial site for a slain Temple University police officer.
The teen boy was on the 1900 block of Montgomery Avenue with two other people shortly before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when a 2012 gray Nissan Maxima pulled up next to them, according to investigators.
Police said a masked man in black clothing then jumped out of the passenger side of the car, pulled out a gun and opened fire at the teen boy.
The teen was shot four times in the leg. Police also said a bullet grazed the arm of a 13-year-old girl who was walking home from school with a separate group of people nearby.
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The gunman jumped back into the car which continued eastbound on Montgomery Avenue, police said.
Both victims were taken to Temple University Hospital. The teen boy is in critical but stable condition while the girl is stable.
"He's had two surgeries today, alone," Veronica Joyner, the founder of Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School where the teen boy attends. "Such a very nice young man. And the teacher was up tutoring him just before he left."
During a press conference on Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Captain James Kearney described the vehicle the gunman was inside as a 2012 gray Nissan Maxima with a missing hubcap and a temporary Pennsylvania paper tag with the number 3901869.
The shooting occurred only two blocks away from a memorial for Christopher Fitzgerald, a Temple University police officer who was gunned down over the weekend.
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“That community’s been through enough," Captain Kearney said. "We’d like to give them some justice. Find these individuals. The driver and the shooter. And also hold them accountable.”
No arrests have been made and a weapon has not been recovered. If you have any information on the shooting or the suspect's identity, please call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-8270.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
