Police say eight Philadelphia high school students waiting to board a city bus after classes on Wednesday were wounded by gunshots from suspects who jumped from a car and opened fire, the fourth shooting on the transit system in as many days.
The previous three shootings each involved a fatality. At least one student was critically wounded at the bus stop, a 16-year-old who was hit nine times, Kevin Bethel, the city바카라™s police commissioner, said at a news conference. The others were in stable condition.
Bethel said the Northeast High School students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were waiting for the bus around 3 p.m. when three people emerged from the car, which was waiting at the scene, and fired more than 30 shots.
Police then received numerous 911 calls about a 바카라śmass shooting on the highway near Dunkin바카라™ Donuts,바카라ť in northeast Philadelphia, according to police spokesperson Tanya Little.
The injured teens were taken to Einstein Medical Center and Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, according to John Golden, a spokesperson for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA. Two buses 바카라” a Route 18 bus and a Route 67 bus 바카라” were hit by gunfire, but there were no reports of injuries to passengers or the driver.
Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. said officials were 바카라śabsolutely heartbroken and angry that innocent children walking home from school would be impacted by gun violence, and we agree with the mayor: Enough is enough.바카라ť
The scene was cordoned off with yellow police tape in the aftermath of the shooting, with dozens of evidence markers lying on the rain-slicked pavement.
Neighborhood resident Jessica Healy, who was with her 2-year-old daughter, said the area has become more unsafe in recent years, and she has neighbors who are already in the process of moving due to previous incidents.
바카라śI think it바카라™s really sad and just dangerous that I don바카라™t even want to walk my daughter out here,바카라ť Healy said.
Another longtime resident, Brenda Keith, said she doesn바카라™t take extraordinary measures to stay safe, other than being aware of her surroundings in case she suddenly needs to get away from trouble. She understands if people don바카라™t feel safe in the city right now or are uneasy about riding SEPTA, but she바카라™s determined not to let shootings stop her from living her life.
바카라śBut we바카라™re not the only city that바카라™s going through this. â€æ I바카라™ve been here a long time and things have gotten worse, but that바카라™s the way life is,바카라ť Keith said.
Wednesday바카라™s shooting followed shootings the previous three days in which someone was killed while riding, entering or leaving a SEPTA bus.
Tuesday바카라™s shooting occurred around 6:35 p.m., when police said a verbal argument and then a physical fight began. One of the two passengers exited, turned and fired two shots from a 9 mm handgun, hitting a man later identified as 37-year-old Carmelo Drayton. He died shortly afterward at a hospital.
The shooter, who officials said was wearing one of the kinds of masks not allowed on the transit system, fled. Authorities were investigating possible motive, and no other injuries were reported.
SEPTA바카라™s chief of transit police, Charles Lawson, said the shots were fired at the victim while the driver was 바카라śimmediately behind.바카라ť
On Monday, a 17-year-old student was killed and four other people were wounded when gunfire erupted at a bus stop. The victims included two women who were riding on a bus.
And on Sunday, around 11:30 p.m., a 27-year-old man was killed by another passenger moments after they both got off a bus. Witnesses said the two had argued, but a motive remains under investigation.
No arrests have been made in any of the shootings, Frank Vanore, deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia police department, said Wednesday.
While serious crime overall is down along the transportation system, Lawson said, a pattern that has emerged over the past year and a half is people carrying weapons, usually illegally, getting into an argument and then opening fire. He vowed that officials would enforce crime aggressively and unapologetically and use 바카라śevery legal means at our disposal to target illegal gun possession.바카라ť
바카라śWe바카라™re going to target individuals concealing their identity. We바카라™re going to target fare evasion. We바카라™re going to target open drug use,바카라ť Lawson said. 바카라śWe바카라™re going to target every criminal code on the books.바카라ť
Officials are increasing monitoring of security cameras and looking into ways to let employees report potential problems discreetly and safely, Lawson added.
