A 15-year-old boy is shot and killed on a SEPTA bus in West Philly
The shooting occurred after an altercation among several juveniles. A hunt for the alleged killer is being aided by bus cameras that recorded his image.
A 15-year-old boy involved in a fight with several other juveniles was shot and killed Saturday afternoon aboard a SEPTA bus in West Philadelphia, police and SEPTA officials said.
Police said that during the fight, the driver stopped the bus near 40th Street and Girard Avenue, and one of the youths exited through the rear door and fired a shot into the vehicle that hit the victim in the chest.
Because “multiple” cameras on the bus captured the gunman’s image, authorities “have a pretty good idea of what he looks like,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.
It was unclear what started the fight, which occurred on the section of the Route 15 trolley line where buses run, Busch said.
Arriving officers took the victim to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead soon afterward, Busch said.
Police did not release the identity of the victim.
In addition to cameras within the bus, Busch said, a camera mounted on the outside of the vehicle captured the alleged killer’s image.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Numerous incidents have occurred on SEPTA property in the last year. In one week in October, shootings struck SEPTA buses and left four people injured from gunfire, authorities said.
But SEPTA reported at the time that while stabbings, shootings, and other violent attacks had occurred on SEPTA property, including on subway concourses and trains, there had been fewer shootings to that point compared with the same period in 2023.
This is a developing story and will be updated.