Teen Killed, Boy and 2 Other Teens Hurt in Quadruple Shooting, Police Say

A teenager was killed while a young boy and two other teens were injured in a quadruple shooting in Philadelphia's East Germantown neighborhood early Thursday evening, police said.

The gunfire took place along the 5900 block of North 21st Street just before 6 p.m.

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A 17-year-old boy was shot in the face, a 7-year-old boy was shot in the thigh, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder and a 15-year-old boy was shot twice in the head and twice in the back. Police said at least 23 shots in all were fired.

All four victims were taken to hospitals. The 17-year-old boy, identified by his grandmother and later police as Nazeem Anthony Rains, was pronounced dead minutes later. Nazeem lived just blocks from where he was killed.

The 15-year-old was listed in critical condition, while the other boys were listed in stable condition following the shooting, police said.

Police told NBC10 the 7-year-old boy was not part of the group of teens and was struck by a stray bullet as he was walking on the sidewalk.

Nazeem's grandmother, Yolanda Rains, told NBC10 her grandson attended Philadelphia Learning Academy.

"They broke my heart," Rains said. "I'm never going to be the same."

Rains said the shooting occurred as her grandson was going to a store.

"He had just walked to the store to go get something and then we heard 15 shots and then they say my baby was laying out there on the ground dead," she said. "They killed him."

Rains said her grandson was about to join the job corps to get out of Philadelphia due to the ongoing violence.

"My grandson didn't deserve this," she said. "He just turned 17. He didn't deserve that at all. He didn't. He didn't. He was a good kid."

No arrests have been made and no weapons have been recovered. Police have not released a description of any suspects. Police said one of the teens may have been targeted.

"At this point it looks like one of the juveniles that was struck may have also been in possession of a firearm," Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said. "We are still trying to confirm that."

The incident wasn't the only shooting that left multiple people injured in Philadelphia Thursday night. A triple shooting occurred on the 4800 block of Tackawanna Street at 7:38 p.m. A 60-year-old woman was shot in the thighs, a 56-year-old woman was shot twice in the thighs and a 39-year-old man was shot in the hip. All three victims were taken to the hospital in stale condition.

No arrests have been made in that shooting and no weapons have been recovered.

Gun Violence Targets City's Youth

Gun violence targeting children continues to rattle Philadelphia. According to the most recent shooting data from the City Controller's Office, children have made up about 9% of Philadelphia's more than 600 shooting victims so far this year.

Nazeem attended Philadelphia Learning Academy-North, the 7-year-old attends Prince Hall Elementary School and the the 15-year-old attends Olney High School, according to the School District of Philadelphia.

"We wish to extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt thoughts to the families and friends of the young student whose life was tragically cut short Thursday evening and the three students who were also victims of the senseless gun violence in Philadelphia - a years-long crisis that continues to have lasting impacts on our children and their families," the school district said in response to Thursday's shooting.

Since the start of the school year in August, 145 public school students have been victims of violence and at least 25 have died, the school district said. Both those numbers are up from the same time last school year.

To date, at least 145 homicides have occurred in Philadelphia, according to Philadelphia police data. That's down about 15% from the same date last year, but still on pace to be one of the deadliest years on record in the city.