66-year-old man dead, teen injured after shooting near Philadelphia's Lincoln High School
The call came in around 3 p.m. for a shooting near Lincoln High School.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are investigating a deadly double shooting near a Philadelphia high school on Monday afternoon.
The call came in around 3 p.m. for a shooting near the intersection of Rowland and Ryan avenues, which is just outside Lincoln High School in the city's Mayfair section.
The shooting left an innocent 66-year-old man dead and a 16-year-old student from the nearby high school critically injured.
Detectives say two plainclothes officers were in an unmarked cruiser as the gunfire erupted and witnessed the incident unfold. The officers say there was a group of teens outside of a pizza shop when a 21-year-old gunman showed up and opened fire.
"An altercation now turns into shooting, which now turns into a homicide because of something that could have been handled in a different way," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
The 66-year-old man who was driving by the scene was shot in the head by a stray bullet, police say. He crashed his SUV off the road and was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.
After the shots were fired, the plainclothes officers got out of their vehicle and pulled their weapons.
Angelo, the owner of the pizza shop, heard the screaming.
"'Drop the gun. Drop the gun.' They pretty much jumped on him and got him on the floor," said the owner.
Police say the 16-year-old was shot in the back of the head as he ran away. Witnesses say he collapsed on Ryan Avenue. Police say he was not the intended target.
The teen remains hospitalized in critical condition.
According to neighbors, the past few weeks have been filled with violence.
"It's been nothing but fighting, every day," said Debbie Rue of Mayfair.
In addition to the gunman, police also arrested a second suspect.
The 21-year-old shooter's gun was seen in the street after he was taken into custody.
Investigators have not identified the victims or the suspects involved in this incident.
Last week, a 13-year-old was shot on the way to school in a different section of the city.
"We're going to continue to work to make the corridors as safe as possible. Thank goodness there were two plainclothes officers here who quickly responded to the situation or this could've been a lot worse. We're grateful for that. But (we're) just devastated anytime a student from the School District of Philadelphia is involved in a shooting particularly on their way to and from school," Superintendent Dr. William Hite said.
