Mass shooting at Philadelphia bus stop wounds 8 teens, 1 critically

Eight teenagers were shot more than 30 times while boarding a bus in Northeast Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon, leaving one in critical condition, police said.

The victims, all between 15 and 17 years old, were shot while boarding a bus near a Dunkin’ shop at around 3 p.m. The three suspects, who shot at the teenagers from a parked car, are still at large, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.

“It’s hard to sit here and see that in three days we have had 11 juveniles shot while going and coming from school,” Bethel said at a press conference following the incident.

Bethel referenced another shooting at a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus stop on Monday, where a 17-year-old boy was killed and four others were wounded. In the past week, there have been four shootings involving SEPTA buses, three of them fatal.

A spokesperson for SEPTA said two buses were struck with gunfire during Wednesday’s shooting, but no passengers or employees were injured.

The 16-year-old boy in critical condition was shot nine times in the torso, police said. The remaining victims — six boys and one girl — are all in stable condition.

Bethel said additional resources will be deployed across Philadelphia to address the series of shootings and to determine whether Wednesday and Monday’s incidents are linked.