Teen stabbed 9 times in double stabbing near South Philly PAL

A teenager was left fighting for his life after being stabbed nine times -- most of the stab wounds to his back -- near a Police Athletic League (PAL) in South Philadelphia late Thursday night.

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Philadelphia police officers responded to the 600 block of Snyder Avenue just after 11:30 p.m. to find two people bleeding from stab wounds, police said.

A 16-year-old had eight stab wounds to his back and one to his upper chest, police said. Officers rushed him to a hospital where he was listed in critical condition Friday morning.

A 21-year-old was stabbed twice in his front right shoulder and listed in stable condition at the hospital after medics rushed him there, police said.

Police didn't initially recover a weapon, investigators said.

The circumstances leading to the double stabbing weren't clear.

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Stabbing occurred near a Philly PAL

The double stabbing occurred only a half a block away from the Ford PAL, a recreation center where Philadelphia Police interact with children.

"We're very angry," Officer Joseph Ellerby, the director of the Ford PAL, told NBC10 on Friday. "I found out late last night so I'm very angry because this is off limits right here."

Officer Ellerby, known by the kids at the PAL as "Officer Joe," has worked at the center for 20 years.

"All my years in power, we never had an incident on the strip right here," he said. "It's very rare."

Philabundance, the local nonprofit food bank, is opening up a food pantry at the Ford PAL. It will be the first food pantry at a PAL in the city.

"We chose this location to partner with PAL because we know that in the city of Philadelphia, nearly one in three kids go hungry," Loree Jones Brown, the CEO of Philabundance, said. "Nearly one in three kids are food insecure."

Officials said children who attend the PAL can eat food and take it home to their families. Adults in the community can also stop by to get what they need during other hours.

PAL workers hope that children who are better fed will be more prone to making better decisions at home, in school and in the streets.

"It's a basic need. Hunger," Michael O'Donnell, the captain of Philly PAL, said. "If kids don't have access to food at home, they're going to go out and find it. Whether it's to commit a crime or robbery or theft. We're giving them the food so they don't have to get in trouble."