Police: Shooter Caught On Surveillance Video Chasing Teen, 'Clearly' Targeting Him In Deadly Double Shooting
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PHILADELPHIA(CBS) — One teenager is dead and another is injured after a double shooting outside a South Philadelphia gas station.
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It happened just after 8 p.m. Thursday on the 2500 block of Passyunk Avenue.
Two victims, both 15-year-old black males, were shot during the incident, according to officials.
Officials say 15-year-old Rasul Benson was found lying next to the gas station in a driveway, bleeding from the head and back. He was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m.
The other teen was shot in the arm and torso, but is expected to survive. Officials say that victim is in stable, but critical condition.
"It is a shame. Something has to be done. All of us. It's a combined effort. No one takes sole blame or takes sole responsibility to keep our kids alive," said Captain Sekou Kinebrew with the Philadelphia Police Department.
At least 16 shots were fired from a semi-automatic weapon, police say. Two of those shots struck the gas station.
Surveillance cameras at the gas station captured the entire incident. The shooter appeared to get out of a vehicle and began firing. Police say the cameras showed the gunman chasing one of the teens, clearly targeting him.
"Police viewed that recording and you can clearly see the shooter. He appears to get out of a vehicle on Passayunk Avenue, and then began firing shots towards the gas station, towards a group of people," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
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"It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of a member of our school community," said Kathleen McCladdie, the principal of the Parkway West High School.
The school district will offer counseling and support to students affecting by the shooting of their classmate, school officials said.
"On behalf of Parkway West High School, I have extended our sincere condolences to the family of Rasul Benson on this sad occasion," McCladdie added.
A motive is unclear at this point and no weapons have been recovered.
No arrests have been made.
Benson's death is part of alarming statistics put out by the police department. As of Oct. 4, there have been 89 gunshot victims under the age of 18 since Jan.1, 18 of them have been fatal. That's up from 64 gunshot victims at the same time last year with 15 fatal.
"One would be too many. The number we have is obscene at this point. The young folks are on the receiving end of this horror and young folks are on the end of the aggressive side of this too," Kinebrew said.
