16-Year-Old 'Scholar-Athlete' Dies Following Easter Shooting On South Street
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A teen has died after he was shot on Easter Sunday on South Street, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.
"There's a lot of kids who go to South Street to go up and down. It's very uncommon to have that sort of thing take place there," said Captain Jack Ryan with the Philadelphia Police Department.
But on April 1 just before 6 p.m., gunfire rang out on the 800 block of South Street.
Police say that two groups of teens got into an argument and there was a small amount of fighting.
"One of the kids from the opposing group had a firearm and shot 16-year-old William Bethel in the pelvis," Ryan said.
Police say Bethel was shot once in the left pelvis. The teen was transported to an area hospital where he was placed in stable condition.
The teen died at the hospital late Tuesday.
Bethel was a sophomore at Boys Latin of Philadelphia Charter School.
"He was full of kindness and had a magnetic spirit. He was a leader with a warm heart and gentle smile. Bill was a scholar-athlete, participating in boxing, football, and basketball as well as achieving honor roll," the school said in a statement.
Though Boys Latin is out on spring break they did open their doors Thursday for students in need of assistance coping with Bethel's death.
Parents told CBS3 that this is at least the third time in as many years that their children have had to cope with loss of friends at the hands of gun violence.
"It speaks volumes to the availability of firearms, the ready availability of firearms out there in the city where kids that young get a hold of handguns where you might have a fight and a few bruises you have deaths," Ryan said.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.
