PHILADELPHIA, PA – A shooting near Temple University in North Philadelphia left a teenager critically injured on Monday afternoon. The incident occurred around 4 p.m. on the 1400 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
Officers arrived to find a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound in his hip. He was transported to Temple University Hospital, where he remains in critical condition, officials reported. The young victim is a student with the School District of Philadelphia, added the district officials.
The suspect, believed to be about the same age as the victim, fled the scene, likely taking refuge on the subway. Police are still investigating to uncover what might have triggered the shooting.
“We were playing basketball right around the corner with my friends. I heard like, a loud bang,” Harshil Patel, a sophomore at Temple, recalled, initially mistaking the gunshot for construction noise. A subsequent alert from Temple University advised students to avoid the area, clarifying that no students or faculty were involved in the incident.
Henry Collins, the owner of a local unisex salon on Cecil B. Moore Avenue, expressed concern about safety in the area. Having worked there for nearly 30 years, Collins believes a greater police presence could thwart such incidents.
Philadelphia police and Temple police are seeking any information related to the case.