2 teen boys critically wounded in Kingsessing shooting

Two boys, ages 14 and 16, were critically wounded in a shooting Thursday evening in the Kingsessing section of Southwest Philadelphia, police said.

Just after 5 p.m., police responded to the corner of 54th Street and Willows Avenue and found the victims in front of a corner store, said Inspector D.F. Pace.

Police rushed the 16-year-old, who was shot in the head, to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was listed in extremely critical condition.

Medics transported the 14-year-old, who was shot in the side of his body, to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

So far this year, 181 children have been shot in Philadelphia, including those two victims — and the 14-year-old boy who was killed and four other teens who were wounded after a football scrimmage at Roxborough High School on Tuesday. There were 213 children shot in 2021, a year that ended with a record number of homicides.

Pace said at least one assailant in Thursday’s Kingsessing shooting fired eight shots and then fled the scene in a white Dodge Charger.

Several parked vehicles also were struck by gunfire, as was the store, Pace said.