13-Year-Old Boy Shot, Killed Blocks Away From E.W. Rhodes Middle School In North Philadelphia, Officials Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Another Philadelphia family is grieving the loss of a child. The shooting happened around 9 a.m. near West Clearfield and North Judson Streets.
The 13-year-old boy was sitting in a car just blocks away from E.W. Rhodes Middle School.
The boy was pronounced dead on the scene just after 9 a.m.
Neighbors who heard the shots recall being startled before witnessing a group of young boys run for cover. This shooting adds to an already troubling list of homicides.
For the 34th time this year, a child was killed in Philadelphia.
"It's stupid, it don't make no sense," neighbor Albis Mapp said.
Neighbors say the victim turned 13 a day before his death.
"I remember Marvin Gaye writing a song, 'What's Going On.' What is going on?" resident Jeanie Phillips said.
Police say the teen was inside of a red PT Cruiser with four to five other people when a separate group of people approached the vehicle and started firing.
One boy tells CBS3 his 12- and 13-year-old friends saw the fatal shooting.
"I was just in class doing work and the three kids saw it happen," student Abel Angelmorles said.
The gunfire erupted about a half-mile from the middle school, prompting officials to put the school on lockdown. The lockdown was lifted Friday afternoon.
"They say Black lives matter, but we killing one another, so when do it matter? When you dead," Mapp said.
"It's heartbreaking," Monica Lewis, with the Philadelphia School District said. "I was in the school earlier and students are shaken and the staff is shaken. Parents are here and they want to know if their children are OK."
Some parents picked up their kids early.
"School should be where kids are safe, they shouldn't feel like their lives are in danger when they're in school," one parent said.
Another parent added that they shouldn't have to worry about their kids, but "nowadays, I have to walk mine to and from every day."
"My niece is here," another parent added. "She's crying in the back. She might have known who the person was."
"You can't be around your kids 24/7. You just gotta hope and pray that they do the right thing," Shonda McClellan said.
McClellan is a member of Mothers Bonded by Grief. She lost her 17-year-old daughter Erica nearly four years ago to gun violence.
She says, because of incidents like this, her group keeps on growing.
"Every day, we cannot catch a break. And they are getting younger and younger and this is so not acceptable," she said.
Police have not named any suspects. Anyone with information is urged to contact them.
CBS3's Matt Petrillo and Jasmine Payoute contributed to this report.
For a list of gun violence resources in Philadelphia, click here.
