North Philadelphia

Shooting at Birthday Party Inside Philly Home Leaves 4 Teens Hurt

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A birthday party inside a North Philadelphia home ended with four young people shot, the latest young victims of Philadelphia's ongoing gun violence problem.

The gunmen fired on the first floor and even down in the basement of the home along the 2800 block of Bonsall Street, near West Somerset Street, around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, Philadelphia Police said.

Police arrived to the home to find the teenagers shot, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

A 15-year-old girl was shot in the back and leg; a 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg; a 17-year-old woman was shot in the leg and a 16-year-old girl was grazed by a bullet on her leg, police said.

All four shooting victims were hospitalized in stable condition, Small said.

The gunfire took place inside one of the girls' home.

"It was a birthday party for a 17-year-old inside of that property and we believe there were about 15 to 20 teenagers and young adults inside," Small said.

The youngest of the people in the home was just 11 years old, Small said.

Police found evidence that at least nine shots were fired over two floors of the home.

Two bullets wound up hitting a home across the street, nearly missing a woman in her own bed.

"A woman was laying in bed and told police she heard the shots then realized bullets went into her window," Small said.

The woman was shaken up, but wasn't hurt.

Responding police officers found two males running away from the home and they chased the people into a home about a block away on North Judson Street, Small said. They found a gun in that home.

Police also apprehended a third person in the area who had a handgun on him.

Small called each of the captured people suspects in the shooting.

Police planned to search both homes on Bonsall and Judson streets as they searched for clues, Small said.

This wasn't the only shooting where teens were hurt overnight:

An 18-year-old was shot and killed at Lancaster Avenue and North 18th Street just before 10 p.m., police said. A gun was recovered, but no arrest was made.

And, Philadelphia police said a 16-year-old boy was shot in the arm along the 3100 block of Fontain Street in Philadelphia's Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. The boy was hospitalized in stable condition. A gun was also recovered in that shooting.

As of Tuesday, at least 138 children have been shot so far in 2022 in Philadelphia, according to data from the city controller's office. That makes up more than 9% of the nearly 1,500 shooting victims in Philadelphia so far this year.

There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.

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