16-Year-Old Ahjaon Jackson Shot, Killed While Coming Home From Work With Twin Sister, Philadelphia Police Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 16-year-old is dead after Philadelphia police say he was shot more than 10 times while coming home from work with his twin sister. The shooting happened in the 200 block of East Fariston Drive, which is in the East Oak Lane neighborhood.
The department said officers responded to the shooting around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Investigators wrapped up working the scene around 4 a.m. Wednesday.
The victim, Ahjaon Jackson, and his twin sister left work at a nearby McDonald's around 10 p.m. and took a Lyft home. When they got out of the car, police say Ahjaon was approached by three people who started shooting.
Now investigators are trying to piece together why he was targeted.
"Gunshots and ambulances," neighbor Conrad Lowkey said describing the scene. "I knew something had happened, I wasn't quite sure."
Police said at least 15 shots were fired. The sister escaped into the home, but Ahjaon did not.
"Some young ladies came outside. They began to scream and cry and holler, and we saw a young man laying in the grass," Pastor Robert Fuller told CBS3.
The pastor lives just two doors down and described Ahjaon as a "nice young man."
"Every now and then, I would see him coming and going to work," he said.
The School District of Philadelphia confirmed to CBS3 Ahjaon was a student at Randolph Tech High School. Grief counselors were on hand Wednesday to help students and staff cope.
"It was heartbreaking for the entire school community and it feels like there's a dark cloud because their circle has been broken," said Dr. Michelle Burns, principal at Randolph Tech.
Ahjaon's principal says he was in school hours before the shooting.
It goes without saying that there's a gun violence crisis in Philadelphia, and according to one principal, it's making her job tougher and tougher.
"Honestly right now in this exact moment, I'm very tired. I'm tired of having this conversation," Le'Yondo Dunn said.
Dunn is the principal at Simon Gratz Charter School. He didn't know Ahjaon but knows what his school community is feeling far too well.
"This year we've lost four young people to gun violence. This past school year, we lost six young people to gun violence and this is happening at such a reoccurring rate," Dunn said.
Authorities said there were no fights or issues at work before the victim came home. Investigators found a semi-automatic gun at the scene, and they are reviewing surveillance videos from nearby homes.
Now the community is in outrage at another senseless shooting in the city.
"A 16-year-old boy got killed for what?" Keenan Hudson, a community activist, wondered. "What could he have done for y'all to put 10 bullets inside of him?"
Ahjaon is at least the 37th person under the age of 18 to be killed by gun violence this year in the city.
"I want the city to say this is a priority that we are focusing on, and we're gonna put all of our resources and efforts behind making sure there's not one young person lost," Dunn said.
Mayor Jim Kenney said his administration is working to change the gun culture in the city.
"It's a terrible, sad situation. But these young men have guns. We're trying to get them off the street, working hard to get them off the street. When I was that age I never saw a gun let alone got access to them," he said.
Philadelphia police said they are searching for three gunmen.
CBS3's Wakisha Bailey, Howard Monroe and Jasmine Payoute contributed to this report.
For a list of gun violence resources in Philadelphia, click here
