What to Know
- Two 18-year-old men have been arrested in the March 6 shooting at a bus stop in Philadelphia's Burholme neighborhood that left 8 teens, all students at Northeast High School injured.
- Both teen suspects, Ahnile Buggs and Jamaal Tucker, are currently facing several charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault, weapons offenses and other offenses, and are being held on more than $2 million bail.
- Police are investigating if the March 6 shooting was possibly connected to a teen's slaying days earlier, along the 6200 block of Ogontz Ave., after, court documents claim, Buggs was recorded talking about that incident on a prison phone call.
As students returned to Northeast High School days after eight of their classmates were injured in a shooting at a nearby SEPTA bus stop after school, police have made two arrests.
Ahnile Buggs and Jamaal Tucker have been arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, firearms charges, reckless endangerment and related charges, according to the District Attorney Larry Krasner. They are being held on more than $2 million bail.
Tucker, 18, turned himself in on Friday after police obtained a search warrant, said Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore at a news conference on Monday.
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US Marshals arrested Buggs, 18, early Saturday after another search warrant was issued. When Marshals arrested Buggs they found a .40-caliber Glock 22 pistol with an extended magazine that was fully loaded and had laser sights on it—a Glock switch—that made it fully automatic. It matched casings found at the scene, police said.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled March 20 for both. NBC10 has reached out to the public defender's office for both men and they declined to comment at this time.
Police did not specify what the roles of the Buggs and Tucker were during the shooting, only saying on Monday that the men were involved.
Mayor Cherelle Parker led a group of public officials at the Monday afternoon news conference, including the heads of the local FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices, to try to assure anxious city residents they are working to address the spate of transit crime on SEPTA recently.
“We will focus on prevention, intervention and enforcement,” said Parker, who took office in January and promised to present her public safety strategies in the coming weeks, "in an effort to bring lawfulness and some order back to our city."
The search continues for at least two more suspects in the March 6 shooting.
“If you are involved, then get smart. Turn yourself in. That’s exactly what happened with one person involved and it’s the smart thing for you to do," Krasner said.
Law enforcement officials also said all the teens that were injured in the shooting are now in stable condition, including the 16-year-old who was shot nine times.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
What we know about the mass shooting of Northeast High School students
The incident happened at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, as students from Northeast High School were gathered at a bus stop at the intersection of Cottman and Rising Sun avenues, in the city's Burholme neighborhood, officials said.
At that time, a blue Hyundai Sonata that, police said was reported stolen -- and has since been recovered -- pulled up across the street and three armed people jumped out and opened fire on the crowd at the bus stop.
In the incident, eight teens -- all Northeast High students -- where inured, including one 16-year-old who was shot nine times. That boy was the only victim in the incident that was listed in critical condition at the time, police said.
According to law enforcement officials, six other teen boys and a teen girl were shot as well, and they were all listed in stable condition after the incident.
NBC10 obtained court documents that detail how the police narrowed in on Tucker and Buggs.
The same stolen blue Hyundai used in the shooting was found later that same evening on the 400 block of Fern Street in Olney. Detectives were able to get surveillance of that immediate area and saw the four suspects exiting the car 14 minutes after the shooting and entering a home on that block, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
From that address police identified Tucker as a suspect.
According to the court documents, investigators determined that the cellphones of Tucker and Buggs traveled "in concert" to the shooting location and the area where the stolen car was recovered.
Police said they do not know if the shooting on March 6 was in retaliation for the shooting earlier in the week that left a 17-year-old dead, but the affidavit charging Buggs included a phone conversation with an inmate, that officials claim was Buggs' uncle, and the document states "based on the context of this phone call, it is believed that the two individuals on this call are discussing the March 2 homicide at 6200 Ogontz Ave."
Northeast High students return to school
As police are expected to provide new information on the investigation into this incident, seniors and juniors returned to classrooms at Northeast High on Monday morning.
In a statement posted to the school's website, the Northeast High's principal, Omar Crowder, said the return of students would be staggered -- older students to return Monday and 10th graders and 9th graders head back Tuesday -- to allow "more small group and individualized support."
"The School District of Philadelphia’s Emergency Crisis Response Team of the Office of Prevention and Intervention, including crisis counselors, will be on-site to support our students with grief counseling and whatever emotional assistance they need," read Crowder's letter.
Students that aren't returning to the school building will be expected to attend classes virtually.
Also, Crowder said that, this week, students at the school could expect to see an increased police presence in the vicinity of the institution and on and around bus routes near the facility.
"Please know that the District is working closely with the Philadelphia Police Department every day to keep a close eye on what’s going on in our communities and provide extra resources when needed to support the safety of our schools, staff and students," the letter read.
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