Student killed near Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter: police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Simon Gratz sophomore on the way to school was shot and killed Tuesday morning, according to police.
Police were at the scene on 16th Street and West Hunting Park Avenue.
They say the victim, a 15-year-old boy, got in a fight with three young males who were dressed in all black, and one was wearing a ski mask. One of them pulled out a gun and shot the boy in the chest.
Security video exclusively obtained by CBS Philadelphia shows the moments the fight broke out.
Someone flagged down an officer moments after the shooting, and that officer took the boy to Temple University Hospital. He was pronounced dead there. He's the 11th child killed in Philadelphia this year.
Data also shows 40 children were killed in Philly last year and 41 in 2021. That's more than twice as many young lives lost before the pandemic in 2019.
The scene is a few blocks from Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter and Gratz Prep Middle School.
Both schools dismissed at 11 a.m. and provided grief counseling until 1 p.m.
"Mastery offers our deepest condolences to the student's family and loved ones and will respect their privacy. We share in their loss and are devasted by the frequency with which gun violence is impacting our city and our community," Mastery Schools said in a statement.
Police say he's the 11th child to be killed in Philly this year. He's also the second student shot while on their way to a school in the city this year, the other incident happened in January, but that child survived.
"This again speaks to the level of gun violence that we continue to see in the city," Sgt. Eric Gripp said. "Our children should be safe, everyone should be safe, but children on the way to school ... This young man, his whole life ahead of him, is now dead this morning, because we have individuals out there who can't seem to handle any kind of conflict with anything but producing a handgun."
There is a $30,000 reward available for information that leads to an arrest, Gripp said.
"This has to stop," Gripp said. "As our elected leaders, as our department says day in and day out, we are all tired of living in fear and our children need to be safe."
Board of Education President Reginald Streater said he's grieving for the student and his family.
"No one should ever have to bury their child, period, especially in this manner," Streater said.
He said the city needs to come together and "be a village" working together to stop gun violence.
"It'll take all hands on deck to figure out how to deal with gun violence in the city," Streater said. "I just can't imagine, even in Philadelphia in the 1990s, it was never as bad as this."
There is a day care and several businesses in the busy area. Police have parts of the sidewalk on Hunting Park Avenue blocked off with police tape.
As police combed for clues Tuesday, those who live in the area like Mary Brunson say they often worry about gun violence.
"I just pray," Brunson said. "I really don't. I don't feel safe but I have to go out and go."
