Friends and family are mourning an Upper Darby teenager who was found shot to death inside a broken-down town car parked along a North Philadelphia street.
Xavier Stern, 15, was shot in the chest and head around 7:20 p.m. Friday as he sat in the back of the black Lincoln Town Car along the 2400 block of North Park Avenue, Philadelphia Police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10 that Stern went missing from his Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, home prior to his death. His family used to live in North Philadelphia.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood confirmed on Sunday that Stern, who had a warrant out for his arrest in Upper Darby, went missing from his family home on the unit block of State Road in the township Nov. 22. The teen left home after an argument with his family and cut off an ankle monitor he wore as part of a probation sentence, Chitwood said, prompting an arrest warrant to be issued.
Stern was on probation from an incident in 2014 when he was accused of hitting another teen over the head with a gun, Chitwood confirmed.
Chitwood said the teen may have been sleeping in the car where his body was found.
Stern's father was already at the scene when officers responded to the 9-1-1 call Friday night. He identified the boy, according to Small.
The town car was broken down and had been parked on the street for some time with a flat tire and tarp-covered window. The inside of the car was littered with vehicle parts.
Crime-scene investigators searched the car to see if the weapon used was left inside. The Town Car was towed to a police garage late Friday.
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Stern's parents and the car's owner, who lives on the block, were questioned at the Homicide Division. Officers are also looking for surveillance video in the surrounding area.
A vigil for Stern was held Sunday night at the Monarch Football Field at 6501 Callowhill Street where the teen played in the Youth Athletic Program. Stern's football coach Sean Kennedy told NBC10 his skills on the field earned him the nickname "Megatron."
"He did everything on this football field you could possibly imagine and more," Kennedy said.
Kennedy was one of the last people to speak with Stern. Kennedy told NBC10 their conversation was good and Stern sounded like he was going to get back on the right track.
"I was destroyed when I heard it because I just talked to him," Kennedy said.
Tears fell down the faces of those who attended the vigil as they released balloons in the boy's honor. Stern's coaches handed his jersey and the championship trophy to his mother.
Police on Sunday revealed no suspect or motive information in the teen boy's killing.
