A pregnant teen was severely injured Monday night after getting caught in a shootout in Kensington.
The woman, who is 18 years old and two months pregnant, was sitting in a car when bullets started to fly. The gunfire broke out at around 9:25 p.m. on the 1900 block of E. Clarence St, located in the Kensington’s Harrowgate area. The victim was found unresponsive in the front passenger seat of a 2017 Chevy Impala. She was rushed to Temple Hospital in extremely critical condition. Police did not reveal the victim’s identity, or the condition of her unborn child.
NBC Philadelphia reports that the victim was shot in the torso and the chest at least three times.
Cops have revealed that the victim was with two other individuals in the car. According to the police report, the driver saw a man she knew and was talking to him from the car when they heard gunshots from the opposite side of the street.
The driver drove backwards to get away from the scene, but when they turned on to Clarence Street, the victim realized she had been shot. The driver asked residents who were outdoors to call the police.
According to an interview done with Inquirier.com Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said that shooters were armed with assault-style rifles and a semi-automatic handgun. Chief Small told reporters at the scene that more than 30 shots were fired.
The bullets also grazed three homes and two unoccupied cars on the street. Two of the houses were occupied by residents. None were injured.
Police don’t believe that the victim was the intended target, but they are still unsure of the motive. Inspector Small told NBC, “It’s very possible that this female was struck by stray gunfire, it’s very possible that she was, literally, caught in the crossfire.”
Cops believe there were at least two gunmen, but no arrests have been made at this time.
