Mother of 4 in critical condition, shot twice inside Southwest Philadelphia home
Police say all four children were at home at the time of the shooting.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A mother of four is in critical condition and her 1-year-old daughter is also hospitalized after both were shot inside their Southwest Philadelphia home, police say.
It happened around 1:50 a.m. Thursday on the 1100 block of South 56th Street.
Police say the woman's boyfriend found her lying on the floor in a second-floor bedroom with two gunshot wounds to the back.
The boyfriend told police he had left the home for 10 minutes and found her when he returned.
She was rushed to the hospital where she's in critical condition.
"We know that this 33-year-old female lives at this location with her four children between the ages of 1 and 11. All her children were home at the time," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Authorities found her 1-year-old daughter shot once in the stomach. She was transported to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and listed as stable.
None of the other children had injuries, police said.
"I'm just really lost for words," said Gloria Fleming, who lives next door.
She says she never heard any noise prior to police arrival and had recently seen the family.
"I had actually gone over there to talk to them because we were going to all go out and take them out because they're really nice people," she said.
The 1-year-old victim is now part of a growing statistic of children injured by gun violence in the city this year. Earlier this week, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office teamed up with grassroots organizations in the city to address the issue.
Todd McCoy runs youth mentoring and programs out of the Francis Myers Recreation Center for at-risk kids.
"We're supposed to save them, and they're becoming casualties when they're supposed to be safe in the home. They're supposed to be safe at school, walking down the street with parents," said McCoy.
Police say the boyfriend, who also lives in the home, is cooperating with the investigation.
Detectives are continuing to search for the shooter and a motive.
Police say there are cameras on the block that may help in their investigation.
