Teen shot with real gun after botched robbery with replica gun, police say

The would-be victim of the robbery, a 21-year-old man, pulled out his own legally owned handgun and shot the teen, police said.

File pic of Philadelphia Police Crime Scene tape at shooting along 3400 block of W. Huntingdon in Philadelphia early Tuesday, March 1, 2022.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

by Rodrigo Torrejón

Published Sept. 30, 2024, 11:00 a.m. ET

A 16-year-old was shot in the leg after police said he tried to rob a 21-year-old man with a replica gun in Kensington late Sunday.

Police responded to a report of a person with a gun just after 11 p.m. on the 2200 block of Emerald Avenue, said Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore. When officers arrived, they found the teen with a gunshot wound to his leg and he was taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children where he was listed in stable condition, Vanore said.

Shortly after, officers found the would-be victim of the robbery, a 21-year-old man police did not identify. He told police the teen and another person accosted him, and the teen pulled out what he believed was a real handgun to try to rob him, he said.

The 21-year-old then brandished his legally owned 9mm handgun and fired at the teen, said Vanore.

The 21-year-old man was cooperating with police and had turned over his gun, Vanore said. Officers also recovered the replica firearm they say the teen used to try to rob the man.

Police continued to investigate and were searching for surveillance footage of the shooting. No arrests had been made, nor charges filed.