More Philly kids shot: 2 boys, an 11-year-old and 17-year-old

The 11-year-old boy, believed to be the 101st kid shot in the city this year, sustained graze wounds to the back of the head and his right shoulder, and was in stable condition, police said.

Police investigate the scene around 38th and Poplar Streets, by the Clayborn Lewis Community Center Playground, where six people were shot just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday. A half hour later an 11-year-old boy became the 101st kid shot in the city this year, sustaining a graze wound to the head and shoulder near Olney Playground.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

by Diane Mastrull

Updated Aug. 9, 2020, 4:19 p.m. ET

Published Aug. 9, 2020, 3:24 a.m. ET

One week after a 7-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet while playing on his porch in West Philadelphia and died two days later, an 11-year-old boy was injured by gunfire Saturday night and another suffered a graze wound Sunday night. They are believed to be the 101st and 102nd children shot in the city this year.

The 100th came Saturday night when a 17-year-old male was among six people shot in a playground near the Philadelphia Zoo, an explosion of gun violence that Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw decried as a “senseless act.”

Sunday’s shooting occurred on the 1500 block of South Napa Street. Police said an 11-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the back as part of a triple shooting, and was in stable condition at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A 43-year-old woman was shot in the foot and a 31-year-old man in the chest, police said. Both were hospitalized in stable and critical condition, respectively.

On Saturday night, the 11-year-old was walking on the 6000 block of A Street in Olney, where the Olney Playground is located, around 9:52 p.m. when he heard gunshots and vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed, according to police.

He sustained graze wounds to the back of his head and to his right shoulder, and was in stable condition at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, police said.

They did not report any arrests or provide any additional information.

At 9:21 p.m., five adults and the 17-year-old were shot at the Clayborn Lewis Community Center in West Philadelphia, at 38th and Poplar Streets, police said. All were hospitalized in stable condition.

Investigators used flashlights to search for evidence among the jungle gym and other playground equipment late Saturday night. No arrests were reported.

On Aug. 1, Zamar Jones was sitting on his porch on the 200 block of North Simpson Street when three men began firing at one another. Zamar was shot in the head and died at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia last Monday afternoon. The three suspected gunmen have been arrested.

On Wednesday night, a 6-year-old girl was struck in the chest by a stray bullet while she was playing in front of her family’s home on the 900 block of North 42nd Street in West Philadelphia, police said. She was hospitalized in stable condition at St. Christopher’s.

“This is not acceptable, this is not normal, and this is not something that we should ever tolerate or become immune to as a society,” Outlaw had said of that shooting.

An Inquirer review of Philadelphia police statistics found that not only are more children being shot, they are a growing share of shooting victims. People under age 18 have made up nearly one in 10 of the city’s shooting victims this year, more than any other year since at least 2015, The Inquirer found. All but a few of the victims this year were Black.

Staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.