A teenager from the Main Line in a rented Mercedes-Benz was killed in Center City late Wednesday night in what witnesses told Philadelphia police was an apparent road rage shooting.
Officers were called to 15th and Pine streets around 11 p.m. to find the rented sedan with multiple bullet holes in it and Denis Mohamed Jaward slumped over in the driver's seat, Philadelphia Police said.
The teen had multiple gunshot wounds to his neck, shoulder, arm and leg, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. Medics rushed him to Jefferson Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Denis was a resident of Wayne, Pennsylvania, police said. It wasn't immediately clear what brought him to Philadelphia Wednesday night.
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"It's a tragedy," Small said.
"It appears that someone fired at least four shots from a semiautomatic weapon, striking the passenger side then striking this 17-year-old driver on the right side of his body multiple times," Small said.
After the shooting, the gunman hopped back into a Nissan SUV that sped off down 15th Street, witnesses told Philadelphia police.
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After a couple of blocks, the SUV driver struck a Honda with two women inside then lost control, slamming into two parked cars, Small said.
NBC10 obtained surveillance video of the crash.
After the crash, two people got out of the Nissan and could be seen fleeing on foot, witnesses told police.
No arrests were immediately made, but police had some leads. Investigators hoped surveillance video from nearby homes and businesses at both scenes would help them track down Denis' killer.
At least 20 juveniles have been killed in Philadelphia so far in 2022, according to the City's controller's office.
Entering Thursday, at least 229 people had been killed in Philadelphia, according to police. That's down 8% from last year, which wound up the deadliest on record.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
