upper darby

Teen Hero Who Helped Rescue 3 Kids Killed in Accidental Shooting, Police Say

The victim was identified as 17-year-old Anthony Alexander. The Collingdale teen helped rescue three children who fell in an icy pond last year.

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A teen hero who helped rescue three children from an icy pond nearly a year ago was accidentally shot and killed by another teen who was posing with a gun on Instagram Live, according to investigators.

On Sunday at 4:45 p.m., Upper Darby Police responded to a first floor apartment along the 2400 block of Marshall Road in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, for a reported shooting.

When they arrived they found 17-year-old Anthony Alexander of Collingdale on a couch in the living room suffering from a gunshot wound to the side of his face. The teen was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m.

Investigators later identified the gunman as 16-year-old Diamire Hickman of Collingdale. They also determined Hickman didn't possess a permit to carry a concealed firearm. He is also prohibited from lawfully carrying a gun in Pennsylvania due to being under the age of 18.

On Monday, Hickman surrendered to Upper Darby Police with his attorney and his mother, investigators said.

During an interview with investigators, Hickman said he and other people inside the apartment were livestreaming themselves on Instagram and passing around two guns, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Hickman said he was holding a Glock style handgun when he put his "hand on the trigger a teeny bit," causing the gun to go off and strike Alexander, police said.

After accidentally shooting Alexander, Hickman claimed he didn't know there was one in the "head," referring to a round of ammunition loaded into the chamber of the firearm, according to the affidavit.

Hickman allegedly told investigators he dropped the gun and fled from the apartment. Police said the teen was captured on surveillance video hopping a fence near the apartment and walking through the front yard of a home while removing the gun from his pocket and concealing it again.

Hickman was charged as an adult with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and a weapons offense. 

The teen's bail was set at 10 percent of $750,000. 

A 16-year-old boy jumped into action and helped save three children who fell into an icy pond in Collingdale. The young hero spoke with NBC10's Aaron Baskerville.

NBC10 interviewed Alexander in February of last year after the teen helped rescue three children who fell into an icy pond in Collingdale. 

The children were standing on a frozen pond at Collingdale Park off Jackson and Hibberd avenues back on February 21, 2022, when they fell through the ice. Alexander spotted the kids and rushed towards the ice to try and save them.

"It seemed like they were just accepting their fate," Alexander told NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville last year. "So I jumped in and grabbed a stick and pulled one little kid out and the other girl was close enough for me to reach her so I pulled her in too."

Alexander grabbed a branch and ventured onto the ice himself but started to fall through.

"I was shocked. That's how cold it was. My body went into shock," Alexander said.

As Alexander struggled to save the children, Yeadon Borough police officers drove to the scene but crashed into another squad vehicle on Beechwood Avenue. Fortunately none of the officers involved were seriously injured.

Another officer arrived at the pond and helped Alexander pull all the children to safety.

"They were like, 'Help me. Help me. We're going to die.' I was like, 'Nah, you're not going to die,'" Alexander told NBC10.

Alexander received a certificate of valor from Collingdale's mayor for his actions.

"Many of our students, staff and families knew this student," a spokesperson for the Southeast Delaware County School District wrote in a statement. "We are devastated by this loss and are committed to support our school community to the fullest."

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told NBC10 that Alexander was set to receive a Young Hero Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation in Washington, D.C., in March.

"This is a young man who, as you said, was a hero last year, saving some other people from possibly drowning," Stollsteimer told NBC10. "Now he's gone and his family has to deal with his absence for the rest of their lives."

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