Police: 4-year-old child is recovering after being shot in North Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A gas station along the 4100 hundred block of North Broad Street turned into a crime scene Tuesday night.

Police say around 6:30 p.m. they got calls about shots being fired.

Three people were shot, including two men in their 20s and a four-year-old boy.

Police don't believe they were the intended targets.

"We are very lucky that the four-year-old boy just has a graze wound to his lower back. Very lucky because they were large caliber spent shell casings. It could have been a lot worse," said Chief Inspector Scott Small with the Philadelphia Police Department.

Officers say the four-year-old was with his mother at the time and was outside at the gas pump when he was shot. He was treated and released from the hospital The other two men are said to be in stable condition. Those living in the community were saddened to hear an innocent four-year-old was one of the victims.

"The fact that an innocent four-year-old got shot, it is really sad to hear. I have a nephew who is three so I could imagine the pain that the other is going through," said Shekeira Pernell of North Philadelphia. Investigators say the crime was caught on camera and say a white car was seen leaving the scene after the shooting.

"Witnesses say that three males wearing masks were the ones firing the shots. They were all last seen in that white vehicle," said Small.

Not too far from the gas station, police say there were other shootings, around the same time Tuesday night. Investigators say a man died after he was shot along 3800 block of Darien Street and on North Marshall Street, another man was shot and is recovering from his injuries. At this point, it's not clear if the crimes are connected.

"The fact that you can just shoot at where an innocent child is standing and just not have any type of remorse, I just think it is sad. It's terrible that people have to worry about their own child in the neighborhood they live in and have to wonder if even standing outside is safe," said Pernell.

Anyone with any information is asked to call police 215-686-TIPS.