300 People Have Been Killed in Philly. Mayor Kenney Said He Hasn't Met with Victims' Families

After a teenager died in a hail of bullets, as many as 52 shots were fired, in a West Philadelphia shooting late Monday night, the city passed a dark milestone for 2022: 300 homicides.

Officers found the 18-year-old -- later identified as Lameer Boyd -- bleeding from gunshot wounds to his head, chest, torso and back, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

"Based on ballistic evidence on the scene, we know at least 52 shots were fired," Small said. Many of the bullets appeared to have come from a rifle, while some also came from a handgun.

"It appears that the shooters were standing very, very close to this victim when he was shot," Small said.

Entering Tuesday, there were at least 300 homicides in Philadelphia in 2022, according to Philadelphia police data. It's on a similarly deadly pace as 2021, which wound up being the deadliest on record in the city.

At a regularly scheduled anti-violence press conference that the city holds biweekly, Mayor Jim Kenney told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he had yet to meet with any of the victims' families this year.

"I have not spoken specifically to families. I’ve spoken to folks who were involved in, some of the officers that were involved in shootings, but have not spoken individually to people," Kenney said. "Sometimes the investigation is in the offing, and it’s difficult to interact with people when the investigation is going on. But no I haven’t. I have not."

When press to explain why he hasn't, Kenney said it's something he hasn't done his entire two terms in office.

"I’ve never met with any families in almost seven years in that regard. I’ve met with some children who have been shot. Little babies who have been shot in crossfire. I’ve met with their families. But it’s not something that I’ve done from the time that I’ve started being mayor," he said. "I don’t know that any mayor has done that."

After the press conference, a spokesman for the mayor tried to correct Kenney's statement, saying the mayor has met with mothers of young people killed. But the spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for specific examples.

In a statement released hours after the press conference, Kenney further clarified that "(e)very act of gun violence is an unspeakable tragedy. The fact that our city has lost 300 souls to date this year is utterly devastating. As mayor, my number one priority is to keep people safe and protect our residents. The surge in gun violence that we’ve seen in our city—and across the entire country—is unacceptable and pains me to my core. My deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of all those affected by this senseless violence."