A 16-year-old girl is facing arrest for a SEPTA subway shooting at the 15th and Market station
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office issued a warrant in the Nov. 19 shooting at the 15th and Market Street station.
A 16-year-old girl who police say shot at a group of juveniles inside the SEPTA station at 15th and Market Street earlier this month — but struck no one — will be arrested for that crime, authorities said Monday.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said an arrest warrant had been issued for the teen in connection with the Nov. 19 shooting on the station concourse. The girl, whom authorities did not identify because she is a juvenile, is expected to face charges of aggravated assault and firearms violations.
The teen had been detained at the 11th Street station on the day of the shooting because she was wanted on a family court bench warrant for theft, the district attorney’s office said.
She is expected to be arrested for the shooting by the end of the week, authorities said.
The teen girl opened fire on a group of juveniles who were following her out of the station and up the exit stairs, the district attorney’s office said in a statement. Video obtained by investigators shows the teen shooting from the steps, fleeing, and then throwing a backpack into a trash can in the concourse, the statement said.
A handgun was recovered from the trash can and matched the live rounds and shell casings found at the scene of the shooting, the district attorney’s office said. When the teen was detained on the bench warrant, authorities said, she was wearing clothing that matched what the shooter was seen wearing on surveillance footage.
The shooting happened as SEPTA transit police were considering striking after SEPTA failed to reached a contract agreement with Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109. The union represents about 170 officers who protect SEPTA stations and its buses, trolleys, and subways. They have been working without a contract since March 31.
The transit police officers are asking for a pay increase amid a staffing shortage and a rise in antisocial behaviors — like smoking and turnstile jumping — but not violent crimes.
Leaders of the transit police union decided last week to put their plans for a strike on hold until Dec. 13, at which point members will decide whether to strike after a formal analysis of the transit agency’s latest contract offer.