The family of an 11-year-old boy shot and killed in northeast Philadelphia while riding his bike is devastated and desperate for answers.
"He is a boy, 11 years old. Eleven is a boy," said Lourlor Belance, father of Harley Belance.
He said Harley had just turned 11 years old about a month ago. Friday evening, he was gunned down in McKinley Street while riding his motorized bike.
Belance told NBC10 that he was at work when someone told him that his son had been shot.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
According to PPD Cpl. Jasmine Reilly, police responded to a radio call about a "person with a gun" at Oxford Circle around 7 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found Harley unconscious with a gunshot in the neck.
"I couldn’t imagine that. I couldn’t imagine something [could] happen to an 11-year-old boy,” Belance said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Authorities say a man was seen firing shots across McKinley Street, the same street where Belance was shot. However, police have not yet made an arrest.
The teen is now one of the 114 homicide victims in the city of Philadelphia this year. That is a 30% increase from last year.
This year is on track to become the year with most homicides in Philadelphia's history.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
