Editor's note: Police confirmed on Thursday that the victim in this shooting was a 15-year-old girl. A previous version of this story said she was a woman in her early to mid-twenties.
A teen girl was killed after being shot several times in North Philadelphia on Tuesday night, according to the police department.
The Philadelphia Police Department received several 911 calls reporting gunshots in the area of the 2700 block of North Dover Street just after 7 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2024, according to Chief Inspector Scott Small.
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When officers arrived to the scene they found a female wearing a fanny pack laying on the sidewalk very close to a private residence and suffering from gunshot wounds throughout her body, Small said.
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The girl was unresponsive and police took her to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, officials said. She did not have identification on her but she was identified on Thursday as a 15-year-old girl.
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Officers found a handgun inside her fanny pack, according to Small.
“The handgun was still secure inside of the fanny pack," Small told reporters at the scene. “It appears that this female never got a chance to pull the weapon or shoot the weapon."
Investigators said that many of the 21 spent shell casings found at the scene were located very close to where the teen was found lying, Small said. The shooter, or shooters, were standing very close to the victim when they opened fire.
Small explained that the teen appears to be the intended target.
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