7-year-old boy shot and killed by stray bullet in Chester, police say

A 7-year-old boy was shot and killed by an apparent stray bullet during a drive-by shooting Sunday night in Chester City, police said.

Officers responding to a call for a shooting about 9:20 p.m. found Sinsir Parker in the middle of the 2600 block of Swarts Street, police said. The boy had been shot in the face and was pronounced dead at the scene.

At a news conference Monday outside City Hall, Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland called the shooting “a demonic act” and said the community was “heartfelt saddened” by the boy’s death.

Police Commissioner Otis Blair said the “senseless violence has to stop” and pleaded for witnesses or tipsters to come forward. He also made a vow to the shooter: “We’re going to find you, no matter what it takes, we are going to find you. And you’re going to feel the full extent of the law.”

The death raised to 14 the number of homicides in Chester this year.

The mayor said he was trying to raise money from corporate partners to fund rewards for citizens whose information leads to the arrest and prosecution of people who commit gun violence in the city. He also asked for state and federal partners to help fund a citywide gun task force.

Chester Police Capt. James Chubb said by email that the boy was believed to have been struck by a stray bullet, and police did not know who, if anyone, was the target of the shooting. Officers were trying to obtain any possible video from the scene and speak to witnesses, he said.

Hours after the shooting, detectives recovered the vehicle they say was involved, a black Corvette that had been stolen. It was found at Thomas and Vauclain Streets, and was being examined for possible evidence, police said.

Anyone with information on the shooting was asked by police to contact Chester Detective Victor Heness at 610-447-8429 or vheness245@chesterpolice.org, or Delaware County Detective Daniel McFarland at 610-891-4716.

Kirkland also said during the news conference that the city will be closing all its outside basketball courts until further notice to help with social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Police will also be increasing traffic stops in the community, pulling over vehicles with lights missing, he said.

Chester police also said that two men were shot and wounded in an apparently unrelated incident about 7:20 p.m. Sunday near the 900 block of West Fifth Street, about 2½ miles from where the boy was shot.

No arrests were reported in either shooting.