PHILADELPHIA, PA – A teenage babysitter was shot in an apartment in East Mount Airy, causing a midnight emergency that sent the 16-year-old to the hospital while he was looking after two young relatives, Philadelphia police reported.
Law enforcement officials were dispatched to a building on East Cliveden Street’s 200 block, where they discovered the young man on the ground floor suffering from gunshot wounds. He was shot in the arm and abdomen, according to Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The emergency response team hurriedly transported the youth to Jefferson Einstein Hospital, where he currently remains in stable condition.
Small shared with reporters on Tuesday morning the narrative officers gathered from their initial investigation. He indicated that the incident happened when there was a knock on the apartment door while the two young children, aged five and seven, were sleeping on the living room couch. Tragically, after the 16-year-old opened the door, an unidentified male suspect entered and discharged six rounds.
According to Small, it was a close shave with the gunfire, as it was directed toward where the children were sleeping, leaving multiple bullet holes in the adjacent wall.
Norman Ray, a resident across the street from the scene, reported hearing the gunshots, a shout, and the sound of a car peeling off, while Reagan Watkins, a neighbor in the same complex, was alerted by her boyfriend about the gunfire.
Small confirmed another adolescent was in the apartment during the incident but escaped unscathed. With no definitive description or motive yet identified for the culprits, police efforts continue.
Small expressed hope that the assault would be recorded on the numerous surveillance cameras within the apartment complex and surrounding pathways. Any captured footage of the attackers’ movements could significantly aid in the ongoing investigation.