Eight high school students in Philadelphia were shot to death Wednesday as they waited for a bus after school, police said, the latest in a series of shootings that have sparked outrage in the city.
Philadelphia Police Chief Kevin J. Bethel said at a meeting that the students, who attend Northeast High School, were killed near a Dunkin’ Donuts, more than a half-mile from the school, around 3 p.m. Shot while waiting at bus stop. press conference.
He said that as a bus pulled up to the bus stop and students were getting on, three people got out of a car parked nearby and opened fire, firing at least 30 shots.
Commissioner Bethel said the students who were attacked ranged in age from 15 to 17 years old. One of them was shot several times and was in critical condition, he said.
Two buses were also hit by gunfire, but no one on board was injured, according to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Commissioner Bethel said no arrests have been made yet.
Commissioner Bethel said the shootings come after 11 young people were shot to and from school in Philadelphia over the past three days.
A 17-year-old was killed and four others were injured in a shooting Monday afternoon as people boarded a SEPTA bus in Philadelphia, about four miles from the scene, police said.
A 37-year-old man was shot and killed Tuesday night after a fight broke out on a SEPTA bus in Philadelphia, police said. A 27-year-old man was shot to death after getting off a SEPTA bus in Philadelphia on Sunday night, police said. Police said no arrests have been made in the shootings and no weapons have been recovered.
“The cowardly behavior we have seen over the past three days is unacceptable,” Commissioner Bethel said.
Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said crisis counselors will be sent to Northeast High School to comfort grieving students. He called the shooting “horrible” and “unjustified.”
“We are heartbroken and outraged that innocent children walking home from school are being shot,” he told a news conference, adding, “enough is enough.”
Earlier Wednesday, SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Lawson said at a separate press conference that in response to recent shootings on or near SEPTA buses, police plan to crack down on fare evasion, public drug use and Illegal possession of firearms and other acts.
With the exception of gun violence, “almost every serious crime category has declined significantly,” he said. “We will continue to target this category,” he said.
Philadelphia has recorded 55 homicides this year, down from 79 on March 6 last year and 94 as of March 6, 2022, according to police statistics.