7 people injured in 4th shooting around Philadelphia buses in past week
Seven people were injured by gunfire near Philadelphia buses Wednesday afternoon, the latest in a series of shootings around the city’s transit system.
Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Shawn Ritchie said multiple 911 calls came in at around 3 p.m. Wednesday about a shooting. Officers found seven people with gunshot wounds at the intersection of Cottman and Rising Sun avenues, Ritchie said. The victims are believed to be juveniles.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority spokesperson John Golden told Paste BN two buses were hit with gunfire Wednesday afternoon, but the agency had not received any reports of injuries to passengers aboard either bus. Bystanders who were shot outside the buses were taken to two hospitals, Golden said.
Authorities did not provide any additional information on the shooting or possible motive Wednesday afternoon.
"We urge the public to come forward with any information regarding this ongoing investigation," Ritchie said.
The shooting Wednesday was the fourth in four days around the city's transit system, the Associated Press reported. After a fight broke out on a SEPTA bus Tuesday evening, a passenger fired two shots after exiting the bus, killing 37-year-old Carmelo Drayton. The shooter fled, the AP reported, and authorities were investigating motive.
Philadelphia police are also searching for two suspects they say opened fire outside a busy city bus stop earlier this week, killing a teenager and wounding four others, including two young boys.
The brazen daytime shooting took place mid-Monday afternoon in Philadelphia's Ogontz neighborhood about 7 miles north of downtown, the Philadelphia Police Department reported.
During a press conference, police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said a preliminary investigation revealed at about 3:45 p.m., a group of teens were waiting at the SEPTA bus stop when two people walked up and opened fire.
Gunfire struck and killed a 17-year-old boy at the scene, the commissioner said, and struck and injured four other people, including two other teen boys and two women on the bus.
Dayeman Taylor, 17, was 'targeted'
On Wednesday, police identified the fatality victim to Paste BN as Dayemen Taylor, who officers said lives 2 miles south of where the shooting took place.
"It definitely appears that this individual, our decedent, was targeted," Bethel said.
The teen attended Imhotep Institute Charter High School, a school spokesperson confirmed Wednesday morning.
Paste BN has reached out to the school's administrator.
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Two other teens hit, two women shot on bus
Two other boys, ages 14 and 15, suffered gunshot graze wounds and were taken to a local hospital where they were in stable condition, police told Paste BN.
The 14-year-old was shot in the buttocks, police said, and the 15-year-old was shot in the right shoulder.
Gunfire also went through the bus striking a 71-year-old woman in the head and a 50-year-old woman in the arm. Both were taken to a local hospital and were expected to survive, police said Wednesday.
"It's never fortunate when we lose a child," Bethel said, adding the scene "could have been much worse" considering so many people were in the area when bullets started flying.
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No arrests made in case yet
Miguel Torres, a police public information officer, told Paste BN both shooters remained at large on Wednesday and no arrest had been made in the case.
A description of the suspects was not provided by investigators and Torres said the case remained under investigation.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.