A 15-year-old girl was fatally shot in North Philly
The shooting on the 2700 block of North Dover Street happened about 7 p.m. Wednesday.
A 15-year-old girl was fatally shot Wednesday night in North Philadelphia, the latest in a series of shootings that left multiple young people injured in the last week, despite the city’s overall drop in shootings this year.
Police responded shortly after 7 p.m. to the 2700 block of North Dover Street, where they found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to Temple University Hospital, where she died less than half an hour later. Her name was not released.
Police were still investigating the motive Thursday but said they recovered 27 9mm shell casings at the scene and a weapon. No arrests had been made as of Thursday.
Police and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker have touted the progress made in curbing gun violence across the city — a 36% drop in shootings and a 37% drop in homicides compared with 2023. Still, the percentage of shootings involving juveniles has increased. Last year, 9% of shooting victims were under the age of 18. As of last Friday, juveniles accounted for 12.5% of shooting victims this year.
The rise in young people affected by gun violence came under scrutiny over the weekend after three teen boys were injured in a high-profile shooting outside Christmas Village at City Hall’s Dilworth Park that left holiday revelers scrambling for cover Friday. Two 14-year-olds have been charged with aggravated assault and related crimes and a search continues for other suspects. That same evening, an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old were shot in Holmesburg.
At a news conference Monday addressing the weekend’s violence that left at least 24 shot, four fatally, Parker noted the progress left to make on the issue of gun violence and said “under no circumstances does anyone get the right to wreak havoc in our city.”
She described the importance of helping young people before they’re affected by gun violence, listing what her administration has done to support young people and renewing her call for investments in grassroots, antiviolence groups.