Update: Police officials have released images of a gunman sought in this incident. Check here for new details.
Three women are recovering in the hospital after being shot while riding as passengers on a crowded SEPTA bus on Tuesday, according to police in Philadelphia.
The shooting happened just after 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 on the 500 block of South 57th Street in the Cobbs Creek section of West Philadelphia, police said.
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Police responded to the scene after receiving several 911 calls for a shooting on a SEPTA bus, according to Chief Inspector Scott Small. Once police got there, they entered the bus and found the three female victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Police then took each woman off of the bus and to a nearby hospital, Small explained. They are each listed in stable condition.
The first victim is a 29-year-old woman who was with her young son at the time of the shooting, Small said. She was shot once in the hip.
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A second victim is a 56-year-old woman who was shot in the back, according to Small. The third victim is a 60-year-old woman who suffered a graze wound to the head.
"We were all confused and everyone gets on the floor and then I look up and there are three bullet holes through the window," one witness who was on the bus at the time told NBC10.
Officials at the scene were able to get some information from some of the passengers of the bus as well as the driver.
The driver said that three young men, possibly juveniles, got onto the bus in South Philadelphia at Oregon Avenue, according to Small. The bus was filled to capacity with at least 50 passengers.
When they got onto the bus, they refused to pay the fare and "had some words" with the driver, Small explained. The driver let it go and the three walked to the back of the bus.
Then, at 57th and Catherine streets, the three boys got off of the bus before one of them pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and fired four shots at the bus, Small said. All three then fled in an unknown direction.
NBC10 crews were on scene shortly after the incident. A single bullet hole could be seen in a window on the passenger side of the bus.
Several police officers were visible surrounding the bus as yellow tape blocked off the area.
As of now, investigators do not have a motive for the shooting.
Investigators are working to obtain the footage from the SEPTA bus' interior and exterior cameras, Small said.
If you have any information, please contact the Philadelphia Police Department's Shooting Investigations Group at 215-686-8270. You can also call or text the tipline at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
