Tragedy struck a North Philly neighborhood on Friday night, leaving a 33-year-old man dead and a 9-year-old boy hospitalized with a gunshot wound. The incident took place at the 600 block of North 12th Street around 6:19 p.m.
Reports from the police revealed that the man was chatting with someone in a parked car when two shooters pulled up in a black Jeep Cherokee and started firing at him. Seeking shelter, the man entered a nearby running car containing a mother, stepfather, and two children. It remains unclear whether he knew the family in the vehicle.
Tragically, the man sustained multiple gunshot wounds and the 9-year-old boy was hit in the leg. Despite being rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the man succumbed to his injuries while the boy is currently in stable condition.
Law enforcement officials are actively investigating the incident, interviewing witnesses and analyzing surveillance footage to apprehend the perpetrators. Similarly, an earlier shooting in the same area claimed the life of a 25-year-old man on the 5500 block of North 6th Street earlier that day.
With no arrests made in either case, authorities are urging anyone with relevant information to contact the police department’s Homicide Unit at (215) 686-3334 or Philly Police’s tipline at (215) 686-8477.