A teenage girl playing basketball was the apparent random victim of gun violence Tuesday night when she was struck twice in the head by bullets after gunfire broke out inside or near a playground in Philadelphia.
The victim, who was not identified, was found lying on the court when police officers arrived at Jerome Brown Playground on the 1900 block of West Ontario Street shortly before 9 p.m. Other players fled when at least one gunman fired six to eight shots.
The girl was shot once in the left side of her face and once in the right side of her head. She was taken to Temple University Hospital and is currently in extremely critical condition.
Surveillance video showed there were at least ten people in the area at the time of the shooting. Detectives are still reviewing more video to reconstruct from where the gunman fired the bullets and if any suspects can be identified.
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"It’s very scary and very disgusting that someone would fire into a crowd of people who had nothing to do with anything," Philadelphia police Inspector Frank Vanore said.
No arrests have been made and a weapon has not been recovered. Police continue to investigate and will speak with neighbors as they gather more information. The girl lived a block away from where the shooting occurred, police said.
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There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
