A teenage boy who was a top student and basketball player was shot and killed in the alleyway behind his North Philadelphia rowhome as he was getting into the car with his mom Tuesday morning, officials say.
Several shots were fired at the 17-year-old -- who family and later police identified as Noah Scurry -- behind the Rorer Street rowhomes, near Roosevelt Boulevard, in the Feltonville neighborhood just before 7:15 a.m. on Jan 14, 2025, Philadelphia police said.
Scurry was getting into a car to go to school at Samuel Fels High School with his mom when he was shot, School District of Philadelphia spokesperson Monique Braxton said.
A law enforcement source said dozens of shots were fired.
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"I heard gunshots -- multiple -- and then just screaming from the mom," one neighbor said. "I can still hear the mom's mother cry, seeing her baby on that floor like that."
Scurry was struck throughout his body, police said. Medics rushed the teen to a nearby hospital where he died a short time later.
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There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
Police didn't immediately reveal a motive or announce any arrests in the shooting. Police initially said a gun was recovered, however, in an afternoon update law enforcement said that wasn't the case.
White SUV seen fleeing the deadly shooting scene
NBC10 obtained exclusive surveillance video of an SUV at the scene that fits the description of a vehicle that police in Philadelphia said they are looking for.
The video also captures the SUV leaving the scene after the shooting of Scurry.
Police said on Tuesday that they were searching for a white-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee that has a black front license plate holder, a shattered sunroof and distinctive stickers on the windshield.
On Wednesday, police said the Jeep was possibly found in Northeast Philadelphia, but gave no further details.
Top student and Fels High School basketball player
Scurry who was shot and killed near his home had recently posted the top score among his class on the SATs, Fels principal Melissa Rasper said in a letter to the school community.
"The student recently scored the highest among the Fels community on the SAT college placement tests," Rasper wrote.
He was also a member of the Fels Panthers boys basketball team.
"He also played on the basketball team and for that reason, our boys basketball games will be cancelled for the remainder of the week," Rasper wrote.
The school is offering counseling and support for students grappling with their classmate's death.
"Ours is a tight-knit community, and I know that this is difficult news to receive even when it doesn’t occur on school property," Rasper wrote. "Death is rarely something that is easy to accept, especially when it involves a young person, a classmate and particularly during these times as our city grapples with heightened gun violence."
"We condemn the senseless gun violence in Philadelphia that continues to have lasting impacts on our children and their families," the school district said in a statement.
Braxton announced that all after school activities were canceled on Tuesday.
"It's a horrible day. This is something that no one imagined," Braxton said.
A community in mourning
Family members gathered at a home in Feltonville on Tuesday morning, mourning the loss of Noah Scurry.
One neighbor told NBC10 that they were eating breakfast when they heard the gunfire.
"Very scary. Very scary. It was multiple shots at once," one neighbor told NBC10. "The first thing I thought was to grab my son and throw him on the floor."
Children at the center of gun violence
This is at least the third shooting of a child in Philadelphia so far this year, according to shooting data gathered by the City Controller's Office.
Entering Wednesday, at least 10 homicides have been reported in 2025, according to Philadelphia police data. That's the lowest year-to-date homicide total since 2019.
As is the case with any homicide in Philadelphia, a $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Scurry's shooting. Anyone with details is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or the PPD tipline at 215-686-8477.
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