7-month-old boy shot in the leg in Holmesburg, police say

Police cordon off the scene on Meridian Street in Holmesburg where a 7-month-old boy was shot in the leg.
Police cordon off the scene on Meridian Street in Holmesburg where a 7-month-old boy was shot in the leg. Photo credit Nina Baratti/KYW Newsradio

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An infant boy is recovering in the hospital after being shot in the leg on Thursday afternoon.

Police say the shooting happened around 5:50 p.m. on Meridian Street near its intersection with Frankford Avenue.

The baby was with his parents, hanging out on the sidewalk in Holmesburg, when police said a gunman came up and fired a couple of bullets at them before running away.

The parents were uninjured, but Chief Inspector Scott Small said the 7-month-old boy was shot in the leg.

“We're very lucky, even though the boy is shot, he is in stable condition and expected to survive,” said Small.

At the scene, Small stated that witnesses told police a neighbor was the one who took the infant to the hospital.

“When we arrived on location, mother and father weren't here. When we were notified within minutes that the child was transported by a neighbor to Nazareth Hospital, police immediately went there,” said Small. “We found the neighbor and still no mother and father at the time. It took us about 45 minutes to an hour after the shooting to locate the mother and father, who we have now.”

Small said the baby’s parents were found a few blocks away from the original scene.

In addition to the scene on Meridian Street, police were also holding a second scene around the corner on Frankford Avenue.

Police are still looking for a motive for the shooting.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Nina Baratti/KYW Newsradio