School officials respond after deadly ambush shooting near Roxborough High School

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Social workers and counselors will be on-site at three different high schools on Wednesday, as students, teachers and staff process and grieve the deadly ambush of students outside of Roxborough High School.

"Certainly unacceptable gun violence like this does not help anything. So we're always asking ourselves how are the children and frankly, many of our children are not well," said School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington.

Watlington is one month into his first school year as superintendent of Philadelphia schools.

"We absolutely have to believe we can do better in our city," Watlington said after the shooting Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy.

It happened around 4:30 p.m. on Pechin Street just as a junior varsity football scrimmage ended between three schools: Roxborough High School, Northeast High School and Boys Latin Charter School.

Action News is told the five players were walking off the field when two gunmen fired dozens of shots from a gray Ford Explorer. According to police sources, 64 shots were fired with four different weapons used.

"What used to be a hand fight is now a gunfight. That was a cowardly act today, to come out and ambush people coming off a ball field. That makes you tough? I think not," Philadelphia School District Chief Safety Officer Kevin Bethel said.

Police say the injured victims played football for Roxborough High School.

The 14-year-old who was killed was a student at nearby Saul High School.

Police officials expressed outrage and want to send a message about gun violence.

"Despite all of that, we still are confident in our schools are a safe place. The schools, when you look at all the violence across the city, we still say the schools are the safest place for our young people to come," Bethel said.

"We just have to keep doing as much as we possibly can. We don't need to keep having these conversations - and something has to stop. We're going to work together to figure that out, but it has to be immediate because this can't continue," Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.

Officials have discussed the possibility of boosting police patrols at scrimmages and practices.

Mayor Jim Kenney said in a series of tweets, "There are no words for what transpired earlier tonight. Another young life has been cut short and others injured by needless violence. Tonight, a family will begin to grapple with the loss of their loved one. My deepest condolences go out to them. I'll say it again: schools, rec centers, and public spaces must be safe places."

This deadly shooting unfolded not long after Kenney issued an executive order banning firearms from recreational areas and facilities.

According to city data, 174 children were shot so far this year as of Monday; 23 killed. This data was gathered before the Roxborough shooting.

For the same time last year, 157 children had been shot; 27 killed.

"Death is final. I know a lot of kids see things, they see TV, they hear things but I don't know how many understand that this is final. Death is final. You don't come back from that," Stanford said.

District Attorney Larry Krasner was at the shooting scene Tuesday and was asked if aggressive prosecution of people who carry guns is the solution.

"The sentences for possession of guns are longer in Philadelphia than any other category of cities. Longer sentences are happening here, longer than the rest of the state, but it did not stop this. We have to work not only on modern enforcement, but we have to work every way we can on prevention so this is not happening again," said Krasner.

Krasner said cutting-edge forensics are being used in the investigation.

The Philadelphia School District's Emergency Crisis Response Team, along with a team of social workers and counselors, will be on-site Wednesday at all the impacted schools.