A 17-year-old boy was seriously injured and one person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday night, police said.
Around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police received a report of a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Detective DF Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were about 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teen and that he was shot at point-blank range in the back of the bus.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center of the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who quickly responded to the scene.
Officers arrived on the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no gunshot victims, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he was reported to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned that those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia driving at a high rate of speed in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police received assistance from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which eventually crashed at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car fled, but police were still able to arrest him, Pace said.
Investigators believe a second person involved in the shooting ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe that person fled near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving behind a coat.
Pace said police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there was a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside the bus into the bus,” Pace said. “We’re still trying to piece it all together right now.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.
