Soon after students were dismissed early for Thanksgiving, four students were hurt in a drive-by shooting near a high school in Philadelphia on Wednesday, according to officials.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., the students were waiting outside a beauty parlour at 60th and Oxford streets when a silver Hyundai SUV pulled up and began firing at them. John Stanford, the first deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, made the announcement on Wednesday.
When they heard the shooting, police officers who were in the vicinity to supervise the early school dismissal for the holiday went to the scene, according to Stanford.
Two 15-year-old girls and two 16-year-old boys were among the four kids who were hurt and were taken to the hospital Wednesday in stable condition, according to police.
According to Stanford, it was fortunate that no one was hurt or killed in the incident, and nobody inside the busy beauty parlour was hit.
When questioned if the attack was random, he responded that it wasn’t yet known whether any of the group members were the targets.
Due to the incident, Overbrook High School was placed on lockdown at 11:47 a.m., and it was removed at 1:02 p.m., according to police.
According to officials, no one has been arrested, and no weapons have been found. The inquiry is still ongoing.
“We are devastated by how senseless gun violence continues to plague our city. Its impact extends to all students, staff, and school communities,” the school district of Philadelphia said in a statement to NBC Philadelphia. Everyone’s sense of safety is destroyed by the continual violence, especially at busy times like arrival and departure.
Jim Kenney, the mayor of Philadelphia, condemned the shooting in a tweet that read: “I am heartbroken by yet another act of violence against students. I’m thankful that all victims are stable and nobody was killed.”
He tweeted, “its unconscionable that anyone would jeopardize young people by firing a gun near a school ” In order to help the Overbrook High School community and to ensure that the offenders are identified and brought to justice, our administration will collaborate with @PHLschools.