Three teens are dead and another was injured after a 30-year-old stepfather opened fire on a car full of kids who came over to fistfight his three stepsons Tuesday night, according to police.
A source tell NBC Philadelphia that Axel Barreto has confessed to opening fire on the car, killing three teens inside.
Authorities apprehended Axel Barreto Wednesday night after a tip caller led them to a Bensalem, Pa. motel. Barreto was with a woman at the time he was picked up -- a woman he has been having an affair with and he didn't want his wife to know about, according to a source.
Thursday morning the man accused of killing three 14-year-olds was formally charged with their murders.
Police say that around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, seven teens got in a car and drove over to a house on the 1500 block of E Luzerne Street in the Juniata section of Philadelphia. There, Barreto was waiting with a semi-automatic in the driveway, cops said.
Barreto allegedly fired about a dozen shots into the car full of kids, according to authorities.
Four of the seven teens were hit, according to police. Two of the teens, Javier Orlandi and Joshua Soto, were pronounced dead at St. Christopher’s Hospital just before 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Dante Lugo was critically injured and died in the hospital Wednesday night, police said.
The 16-year-old driver was in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. His neck was grazed by a bullet, according to authorities.
The three other teens who had been in the car were talking with police, helping them figure out the chain of events leading up to the deadly shooting. Police say that someone in the car received a call asking them to meet in the driveway.
Authorities say the shooting was a result of an argument between teens from two different neighborhoods that began on Facebook. It's unknown where they went to school.
Anyone with information regarding this case contact Philadelphia Police at 215.686.3334 or call 911.
Victim JOSHUA SOTO:
Victim JAVIER ORLANDI:
Friends of the victims put together this collage of photos Wednesday:
