Philadelphia police working to determine if bus stop shootings are connected
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are still investigating if two separate shootings involving high school students are connected.
Gunfire rang out around 3 p.m. on March 6 as several Northeast High School students were waiting for the bus at Cottman and Rising Sun avenues in Burholme.
Eight students were shot. One of the victims, a 16-year-old boy, was shot nine times. He is now listed in stable condition.
Police have arrested three suspects and are searching for a fourth in connection with the incident.
READ MORE: 4th suspect sought for mass shooting at SEPTA bus stop identified; up to $5,000 reward offered
On March 4, two days before the mass shooting, 17-year-old Imhotep Charter High School student Dayemen Taylor was shot and killed and several others were wounded when gunshots were fired at a bus stop in the city's Ogontz neighborhood.
"The investigations are both moving at the same pace. There's definitely related parties. That's the best I can say on that," said Michael Cram, deputy commissioner of patrol operations for the Philadelphia Police Department.
According to court records, one of the suspects in the Burholme shooting, 18-year-old Ahnile Buggs, allegedly contacted a prisoner at SCI Pine Grove a day after the mass shooting to talk about another teen who was recently killed.
The city addressed the violence at a community meeting Wednesday night at Imhotep Institute Charter High School.
"No one's going to save us but us," said Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
READ MORE: Teen killed in SEPTA bus stop shooting identified as Imhotep Institute Charter High School student
Parents who came to the meeting say there needs to be change in the city to protect their kids.
"They're here today, but when it starts to die down and these kids are still hurting, are they going to come back? Are they still going to be here? They have to make themselves available," said Lakesha Weeks.
Imhotep is now offering charter busses for dismissal and police have increased presence at both schools following the shooting.
No arrests have been made in the Ogontz shooting.
