Philadelphia Shooting: 9-Year-Old Boy Fatally Shot, Police Suspect Foul Play

A 9-year-old boy died after sustaining a gunshot wound in East Germantown neighborhood, Philadelphia, on Tuesday (May 26).

The 9-year-old victim, whose identity was not revealed, was shot in the face at a home on the 5900 block of North 20th Street.

Philadelphia Police arrived at the scene and found the boy inside a room along with his 15-year-old brother and another man. They weren’t sure if the child was shot accidentally or if it was intended. Both of them were taken for questioning by homicide detectives.

Officers immediately transported the child to Einstein Hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

On Tuesday night, Danielle Outlaw, Philadelphia Police Commissioner, released a statement about the issue.

“It’s tragic for everyone here. You see there’s a lot of residents here impacted by this, there’s officers that are impacted by this. We have employee assistance out here to speak to our officers,” he said. “This sort of thing has a very deep and profound impact on everyone involved but you know, obviously, this type of trauma will be felt for many years to come.”

According to police, other family members of the victim were also present in the home when the incident took place. Homicide detectives executed a search warrant inside the house. The child’s death was being viewed as suspicious.

“We don’t believe at this time that there’s anyone else at risk of being harmed and there’s evidence to believe that there might be some negligence involved in this,” said Outlaw.

Police did not immediately find a weapon at the scene, however, they later recovered a gun from behind the home Wednesday.

“I think the whole situation is just terrible. You know kids nowadays they want to be curious, they want to pick up stuff, see how it works. It’s our job as adults to just be safe, put the stuff away out of kids’ reach, and make sure it’s locked up,” said Shalai Smith, a local resident.

Police dogs were brought to the scene to help with the investigation Wednesday morning. No arrests were made so far. The case was still under investigation. No further information was available.