A 15-year-old was fatally shot while on his way to school in North Philadelphia

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A 15-year-old on his way to school Tuesday morning was fatally shot in North Philadelphia, police said, leaving a school community devastated and grieving the loss of a young life.

Just before 7:45 a.m., the teen was near 16th Street and West Hunting Park Avenue, in the city’s Nicetown section, when he got into a fight with three others, said Sgt. Eric Gripp of the Police Department.

One of the young men pulled out a handgun and shot him one time in the chest, Gripp said. Police rushed him to Temple University Hospital, where he died shortly after.

What led to the fight remains unclear. No arrest has been made.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was a 10th grader at Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter, which is just two blocks from where the shooting occurred, Gripp said.

“He had his whole life ahead of him,” Gripp said.

The teen was a member of the football team and wore No. 64, a “well-loved, charismatic, great student” with a bright future, said Mastery Charter Schools founder and CEO Scott Gordon.

“We are devastated,” Gordon said outside the school. “This touches every student who tries to walk to school and just wants to be safe. It touches every parent who worries about their child. Every educator who just wants to teach, and not worry about whether their student will be able to make it to school.”

Students were dismissed for the day around 11 a.m., and additional counselors and security officers were on site.

Some students wiped tears from their eyes as they walked home.

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Zakkiyah Lucas, 16, said she and the teen had algebra class together, and he was outgoing and athletic. She recalled how he taught her some football skills and was generous with his time.

“He was good to everybody,” she said.

She cried earlier in the morning, she said, but mostly feels frustrated and sad that her classmate and friend didn’t have what all students should: a safe walk to school.

“It needs to be more secure,” she said.

The Simon Gratz community is no stranger to the grief and trauma wrought by gun violence. During just one month in 2021, three Simon Gratz students were killed — two within 24 hours — and another was wounded in a shooting.

Reginald Streater, Philadelphia school board president, said addressing the city’s gun violence epidemic “takes all hands on deck.”

“These are all our children, and the quicker we act like a village, the quicker we can get control of this situation,” he said.

Five other children under the age of 18 have been killed in Philadelphia so far this year.

They were: Semaj Richardson, 16, an aspiring rapper; Shaheed Saoud, 16, a student at Al-Asqsa Islamic Academy; Isaiah Odom, 17, a talented drummer; Anthony Pinckney, 14, an eighth grader who loved to dance; and Neko Rivera, 15, an older brother who cherished time with his family.

Shootings of children in Philadelphia have steadily risen in recent years. So far this year, 37 kids have been shot in the city, which is more than during the same time period in 2015 and 2016 combined.

Staff photographer Alejandro Alvarez contributed to this reporting.