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Number Of Juveniles Charged With Murder Spikes In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --  As the homicide rate in 2015 surpasses that of 2014, figures also show a significant increase in the number of teens being charged with murder in 2015.

According to Philadelphia Police data, in 2014, three teenagers were arrested for three different murders.

As of late November 2015, twelve teenagers were arrested for nine different murders.

One of those victims was 16-year-old Saleem West who was shot and killed while riding a bike in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city.

"When my son walked out those doors that Sunday morning I never thought that he'd be dying that day," Saleem's mom Aquanetta Sutton told Eyewitness News," A piece of me was taken away."

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said he's seeing more murder cases that start with a dispute between teens.

"Too many Philadelphians have access to handguns, too many teenagers who really haven't developed unfortunately the conflict resolution skills that are necessary result in the damage and the violence we see," Williams said.

West's accused killers are also teenagers. Raheim Feaster and Tyree Johnson, both 17, are charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, Criminal Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Criminal Conspiracy, Violation of Uniforms Firearms Act and related offenses.

Dorothy Johnson-Speight with the group Mothers In Charge said she's seeing similar trends in other major urban cities in the country.

"They too are victims in many situations, they've grown up or have lived in situations where violence is what they see, that's their frame of reference, that's their reality," Johnson-Speight  said.

"So if a young person is growing up in that - so by the time they're 15 or 16 it's nothing for them to pick up a gun," she said.

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