A 13-year-old girl died Wednesday night after she was shot inside a North Philadelphia home, authorities said.
Police responded at around 7:30 p.m. to the 2800 block of N. Bailey Street after several people called 911 to report that someone had been shot, investigators said.
Officers found the girl unresponsive in the second-floor hallway of a house with a single gunshot wound to her chest, police said. She was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where she died a short time later, according to authorities.
“Right now, we don’t have a motive for the shooting,” Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene. “We don’t know if this is an accident, if this was intentional.”
A PPD spokesperson told Metro on Thursday that they had no further information about what led to the shooting. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim.
Small said a preliminary investigation found that at least two teenage boys were seen running from the house after the shot was fired. Detectives believe the girl came to the property with family members to visit friends.
Multiple adults connected to the home were taken in for questioning Wednesday night, and investigators were reviewing footage from surveillance cameras, Small said.
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to contact the PPD’s Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or call or text 215-686-TIPS (8477).
Thirteen other teenagers and children under the age of 18 have been killed in shootings this year, according to the City Controller’s gun violence dashboard. That’s down from 16 juvenile homicides on the same date in 2023, the data shows.
Counseling, peer support, and victim advocacy services are available for victims, family members, and others affected by gun violence. Go to metrophiladelphia.com/gun-violence-resources for more information
