Grandmother speaks after 8-year-old shot by stray bullet outside North Philly home
The 8-year-old girl, who was just down the block, was grazed in the head by one of the bullets.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A young girl who was playing in front of her grandmother's North Philadelphia home was hit by stray gunfire Thursday night, according to Philadelphia police.
Police say nearly 50 shots were fired in the neighborhood.
It happened just before 9 p.m. on the 1500 block of North 13th Street.
Police say a group of males opened fire on a passing vehicle.
The 8-year-old girl, who was just down the block, was grazed in the head by one of the bullets.
She was across the street, outside her grandmother's house.
"They were all out here playing; we were actually about to go in the house. And all of a sudden, they thought it was firecrackers. I was like 'no, it's no firecrackers, they are shooting,'" the girl's grandmother Wilimena told Action News.
Her grandmother said the 8-year-old was out of the hospital Friday.
"There is a little hole in her head so they kind of put it back together," Wilimena said.
The girl was taken to the hospital by police. She is listed in stable condition.
"At this point, it's just it's becoming a repeat broken record of us sitting here talking about the gun violence in the city. This could have been anybody walking down the street, it could have been somebody walking their dog," said Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.
A 20-year-old man inside the vehicle was shot in the leg.
He was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle and is listed in stable condition, police say.
Police said they are looking for five men.
According to Deputy Commissioner Stanford, the suspects were waiting for the victim in another vehicle to pass before about 47 gunshots were fired.
The view from Chopper 6 showed the bullet-riddled vehicle that was targeted by the suspects.
It crashed blocks away from the shooting as the driver was transporting the victim to the hospital.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw released this statement on the shooting: "On a beautiful fall evening in our city, a group of cowards with guns waited on a residential street to open fire on a passing car. Dozens of shots were fired. An adult male in the vehicle was struck in the leg - and so was a little 8-year-old girl who was standing across the street. By the grace of God, they will recover physically. To those responsible: stop putting our residents' - our children's - lives at risk! (Philadelphia police) will find you, and bring you to justice."
Officers are still searching for the suspects. Earlier in the night more young people were struck by gunfire.
Police say a 16-year-old male was critically injured in a shooting in North Philadelphia. Officers say the teen was in some sort of altercation with a 29-year-old relative when he was shot three times in the back along the 2000 block of North 22nd street.
Hours later, just after 7 p.m., in South Philadelphia, police say a 16-year-old female was shot along the 2200 block of South 27th Street.
According to police, an officer in the area heard gun shots, and then heard a female who had been shot in the abdomen calling for help.
The teen was transported to CHOP where she underwent surgery. Police say a gun was recovered at the scene.
"Police found a semi-automatic handgun with extended clip about a half a block away behind some of the properties and the gun was actually found in a charcoal grill and the cover was put back on top of this charcoal grill," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Anyone with information on these shootings is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.
