Philadelphia police searched for at least two suspects after a pair of teens were shot in West Philadelphia late Wednesday night. One of the dozens of bullets fired nearly struck a woman sleeping in a nearby home.
One of the 17-year-olds was critically hurt in the shooting around 10:30 p.m. along North Redfield Street, near Arch Street.
The other boy -- despite being shot in the shoulder -- managed to flag down a police officer, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
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Officers rushed that boy to a nearby hospital and then went to the street where they found the other teen with a gunshot wound to his chest, Small said. The second boy was hospitalized in critical condition.
On the 100 block of North Redfield Street, police found evidence that at least 40 shots had been fired from at least two semi-automatic guns -- one a rifle, the other a handgun, Small said.
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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Besides the teens, bullets also struck three parked cars and one went into a second-floor window, striking the wall of a room where a woman was sleeping, Small said.
"She's very lucky that she was laying in bed when the bullet went through her window in the room where she was sleeping," Small said. "She's very shaken up."
Investigators hoped that numerous surveillance cameras along the block would help them track down the shooters, Small said.
Children have made up about 11% of the nearly 300 shootings reported by the Philadelphia Controller's Office so far in 2024.
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