Police are currently searching for the whereabouts of the person who shot and killed a 15-year-old high school student on a SEPTA bus. NBC10’s Deanna Durante offers more details.
On Friday, Philadelphia police released video of the unnamed suspect and another person of interest in the killing of 15-year-old Randy Mills.
Police are accusing the suspect of shooting and killing on a moving SEPTA bus late Wednesday night.
The shooting took place on a Route 23 bus on the 5200 block of Germantown Avenue, near East Bringhurst Street, in the Germantown neighborhood, around 10:50 p.m., Philadelphia police and SEPTA police said.
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Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said the shooter is a male who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with a jacket over top and a mask covering his face. He exited the bus from the front door and was last seen on foot south on Germantown Avenue.
Authorities are not clear if the suspect and Mills knew each other or just got into an argument on the bus, but sources say they do know that the pair were arguing, there was name calling and one person pulled out a gun.
Police released images of the suspect and person of interest, hoping someone will come forward and identify them.
Mills was a student at Roxborough High School. The school district has brought in a crisis team and will make grief and mental health services available to all students.
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“But I didn’t know that was him on that bus,” Alma Dorman, a neighbor of Mills, said. She knew a teen had been shot on a SEPTA bus not far from where she lived, but she didn’t learn who it was until Friday.
“But he was a good little kid,” Dorman said. “He was respectful little boy and I’m going to truly miss him.”
A funeral service is being held for Mills on Saturday, May 27, at the Khadijah Alderman Funeral Service Inc. at 1924 W. Hunting Park Ave.
The viewing will be at 10 a.m., followed by prayer at 10:30 a.m. The burial will happen at Chelten Hill Cemetery.
This was the second shooting on an operating SEPTA bus in as many weeks as two teens were shot on a bus last week. Lawson said he has a study underway to see if crime is on a rise in SEPTA's system.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
SEPTA Police Chief Chuck Lawson gave a warning for anyone committing a crime on public transit.
He said anyone who rides SEPTA is captured on camera many times. He also said that moving forward so-called "Shiesty" masks that are popular among young people will no longer be allowed on SEPTA's system.Entering Thursday, at least 165 homicides had been reported in Philadelphia in 2023, according to Philadelphia police data. That's down 12% from the same time last year, but on pace to be one of the deadliest years in recent history.
