A 13-year-old South Philadelphia boy says a stolen bike led to the shooting that nearly took his life.
"It just happened too fast," said the boy, who we are not identifying due to a request from his family. "I actually didn't feel the bullet go in. It was just too fast."
The boy says his bike was stolen on Sunday after he let a friend borrow it.
"So the next day we went to go look for it," the boy said.
The boy, his stepfather, and his friend drove around the neighborhood late Monday afternoon in search of the bike. Around 4:40 p.m., the boy says they ran into a man who claimed to know where the bike was.
According to the boy, the man said he would only provide the info if they paid him $20. The man then pulled out a gun and opened fire.
"I looked at him the whole time, shooting at me," the boy said.
The gunman fired eight shots into the front passenger side of the car where the boy was sitting. The boy curled up to protect himself but caught a bullet to the backside that exited through the front of his leg. He was also struck in the arm.
Investigators say a detective who was working on an unrelated case witnessed the shooting and followed the suspect into a home on the 2000 block of Mountain Street. Another man, who police later determined was not involved in the shooting, also ran into the home with the gunman. A barricade situation was declared and other officers responded to the scene.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Officials say they eventually took the owner of the home into custody after they found two guns hidden in a golf bag inside. The gunman managed to escape however and is still on the loose while the owner is considered a person of interest.
The boy was treated and released at the hospital. He tells NBC10 he hopes he'll be healthy enough to attend the last day of school on Friday so that he can say goodbye to his friends. His family meanwhile is thankful that he survived the terrifying ordeal.
"He's still able to walk and he's here with us," said the boy's mother. "Things like this don't always just happen like this. I'm just happy that I still have my son."
If you have any information on the gunman's whereabouts, please call Philadelphia Police.
