Tuesday, 31 March 2020

Toddler, 4 more injured at coronavirus party shooting in Philadelphia

A toddler and four more people were injured in a mass shooting at a Philadelphia birthday party that took place in defiance of coronavirus pandemic isolation orders.


NBC 10 of Philadelphia reported that among the five injured at the North Philadelphia home were a 2-year-old boy, his 18-year-old mother, a 14-year-old girl, a 25-year-old woman and a 42-year-old woman.

During the party, which was held in honor of a man who had been shot several days ago, an unidentified gunman wearing dark clothing stood a half-block away and fired a gun into the crowd, Action News 6 ABC reported.

"They should not have been gathering, although, that is not the issue here. The issue is we have a young child shot. That is serious. The mother very young, also shot, and three other females shot and that is the issue here and we need to locate any persons who did this and make sure we get any information that we can out of this situation," said Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Mel Singleton.

The gunman opened fire into a crowd around 10 p.m. along the 2300 block of West Harold Street, according to investigators.

Police said a two-year-old boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being shot in the back.

The boy's 18-year-old mother was hit multiple times and is also in critical condition, according to police.

Investigators said a 14-year-old girl was also in critical condition after being shot.

A 25-year-old woman is among the injured. She was shot twice in the leg, a long with a 42-year-old woman who was taken to the hospital with a graze wound to the arm, according to investigator.

More at PennLive.com.