Boy, 13, killed in West Oak Lane shooting

A 13-year-old boy died after being shot in the head Monday evening in West Oak Lane, authorities said.

Jeremiah Wilcox, who lived in the neighborhood, was struck by a gunshot at around 6:45 p.m. on the 6500 block of N. Smedley Street, according to police. He was taken to Einstein Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries just before 9:15 p.m.

The shooting occurred just a couple of blocks away from Wagner Middle School, where Jeremiah attended. School District of Philadelphia officials said counselors will be available at the school for the rest of the week.

“The collective trauma wrought by this ongoing crisis is overwhelming,” said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, in a statement. “We cannot keep living and dying this way.”

Gun violence claimed the lives of two other people in the hours after Jeremiah was shot.

In West Philadelphia, a man was shot four or five times in the back at around 8:45 p.m. Monday on the 800 block of S. 48th Street, investigators said. He died a short time later.

Police described him only as a white man in his late 20s and did not release any more information about the victim Tuesday.

Officers were called to the 1800 block of N. 52nd Street in Wynnefield just before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, and they found a 25-year-old man who had been shot several times, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at Lankenau Medical Center.

Police did not make any arrests in the immediate aftermath of any of the killings.

Through Monday, 423 people had been murdered this year in Philadelphia, down from 431 at this time in 2021.