PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A dozen people were shot in Philadelphia Thursday afternoon into the night. Two of them have died, including a 10-year-old girl who police say is the second child in a week's time to be lost to an accidental shooting.
Officers responded to a 911 call and went out to a home at 55th Street and Whitby Avenue around 9:30 p.m. There, police say, they found the 10-year-old with a gunshot wound to her head. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
This follows the accidental shooting death of a 10-year-old boy last Saturday in North Philly.
"We have the right to bear arms in our home, but we also have to be responsible," Deputy Police Commissioner Robin Wimberly said at the scene.
Police did not initially provide much detail about the circumstances surrounding the shooting other than their belief that it was accidental. Investigators say there were other people in the house at the time.
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What makes all this worse, according to Temple University Hospital Trauma Outreach Manager Scott Charles, is that these deaths and others can be easily prevented.
"There’s no way to justify it or explain it or excuse it. Other than the fact that this is an absolute failure on the part of adults to protect children," Charles said.
"If we love our children and if we truly want to protect our families — which is the reason so many people, including myself, have purchased firearms — we have to protect them by securing our weapons."
Charles tries to get free gun locks out to as many people as possible and when he hears about another kid being killed.
"We live in a society where at least one child is injured everyday unintentionally with a firearm and we just have to do better to protect our most vulnerable citizens," he said.
"It just makes me want to redouble my efforts because there really is no excuse for this to continue happening."
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This was just one of nine shootings to happen in Philadelphia between 4:30 p.m. and midnight.
The other person who died has been identified as Christopher Johnson of West Philadelphia. He was shot in the chest in the area of 61st and Webster streets around 10 p.m., police say. He died at the hospital.
With these two additional deaths, there have now been 273 homicides in Philadelphia as of Friday morning, according to police department data.
According to initial police reports, the first happened in the area of East Locust Avenue and McMahon Street in East Germantown. Police say two men in their 20s were shot and went to the hospital where they were listed in stable condition.
Then, around 5:15, police say, a 38-year-old man was shot in the shoulder in the area of 15th and West Huntingdon streets in North Philadelphia. He is stable as well.
A minute later, there was a triple shooting at Amber and Willard Streets in Kensington. Police say a 46-year-old man was shot in the head and was critically hurt. Two men in their 20s were wounded and are in stable condition.
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At around 6:30 p.m., police say, a man in his 20s or 30s was shot in the head on South Ithan Street near Grays Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. He was taken to the hospital and listed in critical condition.
At F Street and Roosevelt Boulevard, police say, a 30-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and hand around 9:40 p.m. He was able to get himself to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he is in stable condition.
Around 10:30, police say, a 16-year-old boy was shot at 56th Street and Greenway Avenue. He is in critical condition.
The final shooting of the night happened around 11 p.m. Police responded to the 2500 block of South 69th Street, where a 22-year-old man had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He is currently in stable condition at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
There were no arrests in any of these shootings.
A 28-year-old man identified as Victor Jainlett, who was shot Wednesday night on the 2300 block of West Huntingdon Street, died at Temple University Hospital on Thursday just after 1 a.m., according to police. No arrest has been made, and the vehicle used to drive him to hospital is being held in the investigation.