A group of people on dirt bikes hunted down a teenager believed to be using his scooter to make deliveries in Philadelphia early Wednesday morning.
Police arrived to South 10th and Federal streets just before 12:30 a.m. to find a 17-year-old suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg next to his crashed scooter, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. Officers rushed the boy to a hospital where he was being treated in stable condition.
The victim doesn't speak English, but witnesses helped investigators sort out what happened, Small said.
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The incident began minutes earlier at 10th and South streets when a group of about six to eight men wearing masks on at least four ATVs tried to rob the teen of his motorized scooter, police said. The boy was possibly just wrapping up his shift, Small said.
The teen tried to stop the theft and fled south on 10th Street, police said.
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The guys on the dirt bikes "chased the 17-year-old who was on the motorized scooter" about 10 blocks, where they shot the teenage delivery driver, Small said.
One neighbor called police and told NBC10 that this is the first time something like this has ever happened since she's live in this part of the neighborhood.
"I heard a gunshot, only shot once. So, I called the police because I was hearing them screaming, running around in different directions," she said.
The boy continued driving for about 100 feet before he crashed his scooter into a parked car, Small said. That's where police officers found him.
Investigators hoped that surveillance video help them track down the suspects, Small said.
Another neighbor spoke with NBC10 and said that he is a delivery driver. He explained that he stops working by 9 p.m. for safety reasons. He said that he been robbed at gunpoint twice and was severely beaten once.
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