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Police: 19-Year-Old Brother In Custody After 11-Year-Old Boy Shot And Killed Inside West Philadelphia Home

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police say an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed in West Philadelphia on Monday morning. The boy's 19-year-old brother is the suspected shooter and in custody, Philadelphia police say.

The shooting happened around noon on the 5700 block of Haddington Lane.

West Philadelphia shooting
(credit: CBS3)

Officials say the responding officer arrived within a minute of the call and found the boy in the dining room with a gunshot wound to his chest.

The officer scooped the boy up and drove him to Lankenau Hospital, where he died in surgery.

Police believe the person who shot the boy was his older brother.

"The person of interest right now is his 19-year-old brother who was apparently the only two home at the time. It's very early in the investigation, not knowing whether it was accidental or intentional," Acting Philadelphia Police Commissioner Christine Coulter said.

Police say the 19-year-old ran out of the house after the shooting and asked neighbors for help. They say he then left the scene and was picked up a short time later by police a few blocks away. He was arrested without incident.

Police say the 19-year-old was the only person in the house besides the victim.

Police recovered a semiautomatic handgun but can't say yet who it belongs to.

Some family members who arrived home after the incident were brought to the police station to talk to detectives.

"It's sad. I feel sad for the family," neighbor Camille Brinkley said.

Jerome Kinsey, who lives in the neighborhood, has a 9-year-old son and wonders why an unsecured gun was in the home near the young victim.

"I work at Children's Hospital. I've seen kids, some in there, shot. Drive-by shootings and people accidentally shooting, whatever the case may be, that's sad," Kinsey said.

Rickey Duncan is the founder of the nonprofit NOMO -- or New Options More Opportunities.

"Keep the kids off the street. Give them a safe place to grow," Duncan said.

He knows the tragedy of losing a loved one. His stepson was shot and killed in 2016 while on spring break from college.

"One thing leads to the next. The drugs lead to the guns, the guns lead to the murders, the assaults, the violence and the list goes on," Duncan said.

Now, Duncan spends his time mentoring young men who need a change in their lives.

It's the fourth time in four weeks where a child has been shot in the city.

On Oct. 19, an 11-month-old was shot and critically wounded while in a car seat. Police say the boy's father was the intended target.

The following day, 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera was killed in her mother's arms when a shooter opened fire on her house with an AK-47.

Just last week, 10-year-old Semaj O'Branty was shot in the neck in a drive-by shooting that police say was tied to drug dealing.

"At what point does it stopped?" Duncan asked.

Investigators are working to figure out where the teen got the gun in the first place. Right now, he has not been charged.

CBS3's Cleve Bryan and Greg Argos contributed to this report.

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