Philadelphia

Teen Shot During Sweet 16 Party at Rented Philly Home

Several neighbors told NBC10 the house where the shooting took place is frequently rented out for loud parties. 

NBC Universal, Inc.

A teen boy is recovering after he was injured during a shooting at a Philadelphia home that was rented out for a Sweet 16 birthday party. 

The shooting occurred inside a home on the 1600 block of West Ontario Street at 12:03 a.m. Sunday. A mother told police she rented the home for her daughter’s birthday party. Ten to fifteen people were celebrating inside the house when a gunman fired more than 20 shots at the home, according to police. 

“It was like eight shots at first and then it just start going, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,” Lamont Mitchell, a neighbor, told NBC10. 

A 17-year-old boy was shot once in the left lower back. He was taken to Temple University Hospital in stable condition.

Several neighbors told NBC10 the house where the shooting took place is frequently rented out for loud parties. 

Currently in Philadelphia you only need a long-term rental license to list your property. Starting on April 1, you’ll need to get a specific short-term rental lease. 

“We do have some bad operators out there,” Philadelphia city councilman Mark Squilla said. “We’re hoping by having these regulations in place, that if people are operating, not being good neighbors, we can then withdraw them from these platforms, withdraw them from being a short-term rental.”

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While the woman who rented the home told police she did so on Airbnb, a spokesperson for Airbnb told NBC10 they don’t have a record of a reservation for the property Saturday night.  

“For 16** West Ontario Street, there was not an Airbnb reservation at this address over the weekend,” the spokesperson wrote. “As you may know, we have a number of products in place that block or redirect potentially risky bookings, in order to enforce our party ban. You can see them here: Since we confirm that this incident was not in relation to an Airbnb reservation, we don't have a comment and we would respectfully request that your segment not cite Airbnb as being connected to this awful incident.”

No arrests have been made in the shooting, a weapon has not been recovered and police have not released information on any suspects. If you have any information on the incident, please call Philadelphia Police. 

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