A memorial continues to grow for 15-year-old Aisha Abdur-Rhaman as friends and family cope with her death.
"I can't believe it," said Keziah Ridgeway, a teacher who taught the teen girl at Delaware Valley Charter School. "I'm still in disbelief."
Abdur-Rhaman died Monday afternoon after Darian Person,19, allegedly opened fire during a fight near the Albert Einstein Medical Center. Person was charged in her murder and surrendered to police Tuesday night.
"He took somebody's baby away," Ridgeway said. "For what? I have two daughters. If it was my daughter I wouldn't be able to breathe."
Investigators say a conflict between students at Delaware Valley Charter School led to the fatal shooting. While Abdur-Rhaman attended the school, police say she had nothing to do with the fight that ultimately caused her death.
"Something very small and trivial ultimately led to this young lady being killed," said Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark. "It started with some young ladies having some type of issue then it spread to the guys."
Clark says the conflict escalated into several fights at the school involving students and "people from their neighborhood."
"It became a war over Twitter and Instagram," Clark said. "A lot of threats were made and ultimately they arranged to set up this fight at Broad and Olney which led to the shooting."
Investigators say the two opposing groups met at Broad and Olney around 4 p.m. Monday. Among the group of 20 to 30 people was Person, a high school dropout who Clark said was brought to the fight as "muscle." The two opposing sides began to brawl on the street. As the fight began to die down, the teens then walked about a block down to the 5500 block of Old York Road, according to investigators.
"That's when the second altercation took place," Clark said.
During the second fight, Person allegedly took out a gun and fired three to five shots. One of the bullets traveled a half a block away and struck Abdur-Rhaman in the back as she was walking home with a friend.
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"She was a totally innocent victim," Clark said.
Abdur-Rhaman ran about a half a block before collapsing on the curb outside Einstein Hospital. She was taken into the emergency room where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
A 19-year-old man was also struck in the chest during the shooting. He was taken to Einstein Hospital where he is currently in critical but stable condition. Investigators are unsure whether he was also an innocent bystander or involved in the fight.
After interviewing several witnesses, police identified Person, who has a criminal record, as the suspect in the shooting. Around 30 U.S. Marshals broke through his door and went into his home on the 1900 block of Rowan Street Tuesday afternoon but he wasn't there at the time.
"This young man was actually in our community center a little over a week ago," said Majeedah Rashid. "My coordinator was helping him find a job."
Rashid, who runs the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, says she and others urged Person to turn himself in. He eventually surrendered peacefully Tuesday night. Police say he is charged with murder. They have not yet revealed information on his bail or any other related charges.
A vigil for Abdur-Rhaman was held near Einstein Hospital Tuesday night.
"She was funny and never mad at anyone," said Trey Murrell, a classmate of the teen girl. "That's what we all liked about her."
