A teenage girl died after a stray bullet fired following a high school brawl outside a Philadelphia transportation center struck her in the back just feet from a North Philly hospital.
On Tuesday afternoon, Philadelphia Police announced a suspect -- believed to be the gunman who opened fire striking Delaware Valley Charter High School Aisha Abdur-Rhaman near Einstein Medical Center about 24 hours earlier.
"Something very small and trivial ultimately wound up with this young lady being killed," said Philadelphia Police Capt. James Clark.
Clark said that the department filed murder charges against Darian Person Tuesday afternoon.
"He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous," said Clark.
Abdur-Rhaman died after a gunman opened fire near Albert Einstein Medical Center around 4:15 p.m. Monday, police said.
The 15-year-old's school is located a short distance away from the hospital -- the scene of the deadly melee Monday afternoon.
Shortly after police broke up a fight among a crowd of teens near the SEPTA Transportation Center, the fight restarted near the hospital's main entrance on Old York and Tabor Roads in the city's Olney neighborhood, according to police.
That's when police said Person -- who hails from the 1900 block of Rowan Street -- allegedly took out a gun.
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"He fired three to five shots -- one of them killed Aisha, the other two struck the 19-year-old male who is currently in critical condition," said Clark.
Abdur-Rhaman had run about half a block before collapsing on the curb outside the hospital, investigators said. She was pronounced dead a short time later.
“She had absolutely, positively nothing to do with it,” said Clark.
Clark said it wasn't clear if the male victim -- who isn't a student -- was involved in the initial fight, authorities said.
Clark said that the melee stemmed from a fight among Del Val Charter students that escalated into a scheduled fight at Broad and Olney Monday afternoon. Clark said the combatants brought in some people from their neighborhood to serve as protectors. Investigators said that Person -- a high school dropout with a criminal record -- was one of those guys brought in as "muscle."
Within two hours of the announcement of the arrest warrant, about 30 U.S. Marshals could be seen breaking down the door to Person's Rowan Street home but they didn't find the suspect inside.
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the shooting death. Anyone with information on Person's whereabouts should contact police.
