Philadelphia children shot on eve of gun violence prevention conference
18-year-old Nahzeem Wideman was killed in a triple shooting that also injured a 12-year-old girl.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Three more children in Philadelphia were shot one day after a 13-year-old girl was injured by a stray bullet in a separate shooting in Juniata.
A 12-year-old girl was shot in a triple shooting in North Philadelphia on Thursday evening around 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
The shooting claimed the life of 18-year-old Nahzeem Wideman.
A 31-year-old man was also shot and is listed as stable in the hospital.
Police say a car pulled up on West Lehigh Avenue, and a gunman unloaded almost three dozen bullets.
"Second night in a row where we had a young girl shot just because someone carelessly and recklessly opened fire," said Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Christine Coulter.
RELATED: 3 children among 9 shot in Philly in one night
A separate shooting around 7:30 p.m. Thursday in North Philadelphia critically injured a 15-year-old boy.
Shortly before 9 p.m., in Kingsessing, an 11-year-old boy was shot three times in a double shooting, which also injured an adult.
This year to date, 162 young people under the age of 18 have been shot in Philadelphia. Twenty-five of them have lost their lives.
In response to the ongoing gun violence epidemic in Philadelphia, St. Christopher's Hospital called in experts and leaders on Friday for a daylong virtual conference to discuss gun violence prevention.
"I'm tired. I'm just going to be honest, I'm tired of the shootings and the killings and the funerals, the early morning calls, the late calls, hearing the screaming of mothers and family members who are grieving the loss of a child," said Marla Davis Bellamy, JD, MGA, director of Philadelphia Ceasefire at Temple University, who advocates for addressing violence as a public health crisis.
In his opening remarks, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children CEO Don Mueller said, "St. Christopher's has been caring for the well-being of children since 1875. We've seen lots of issues come up during that time, but none as devastating as gun violence in this current time."
Mueller added, "We treat dozens of children who are victims of gun violence- even this week we had some."
Organizers say gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color.
Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr., M.D., is interim deputy mayor for public safety and justice for the District of Columbia and the district's chief medical examiner.
Dr. Mitchell also served as Keynote Speaker in the conference.
"If we are going to decrease violence, decrease disparity, increase equity, decrease institutional and structural racism in this country, we must elevate and encourage diversity and inclusion," Dr. Mitchell said.
