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Philadelphia police release photos of suspects in Roxborough shooting

Police posted short video clips and screenshots showing the five suspected shooters at a gas station and a convenience store, all wearing all-black clothing and ski masks.

A bouquet of roses outside of Roxborough High School.
A bouquet of roses outside of Roxborough High School.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer

Police on Wednesday released new images of the suspects sought in last week’s fatal shooting outside Roxborough High School.

Philadelphia police posted short video clips and screenshots showing the five suspected shooters at a gas station and a convenience store, all wearing all black clothing and ski masks. Most of the suspects’ facial features were obscured by masks.

The new images come the day after police put out an arrest warrant for Dayron Burney-Thorne, who police said participated in the shooting that left 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde dead and four other teens injured after a football scrimmage near the high school. Burney-Thorne is expected to face murder charges over the shooting, though police did not specify his alleged role. Burney-Thorne is expected to be charged as an adult upon apprehension.

» READ MORE: Police say a 16-year-old is expected to face murder charges in Roxborough High shooting

The Police Department is offering a reward of $45,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Elizalde’s mother, Meredith Elizalde, urged the suspects to turn themselves in, saying in a statement Wednesday that their actions were “wicked and despicable” and that they were “guilty of stealing a most precious life, my son Nick.”

She also asked anyone who might know of the suspects’ whereabouts to speak up. “My son was innocent. My only thing that I had in my life,” she said. “You are robbing him of justice.”

On Sept. 27, five shooters had been waiting in a parked SUV near the high school’s football field for several minutes. Suddenly, the five jumped out of the gray car and fired more than 60 shots at a group of teens headed to the locker room after a scrimmage, police said.

Elizalde, of Havertown, Delaware County, was fatally hit in the chest. The four other teens, who ranged in age from 14 to 17, were also hit. Police later released surveillance footage that showed one of the suspects chasing a 17-year-old victim and firing his gun until he ran out of bullets.

The shooters then got back into the SUV and drove away.

Police have said they believe there may have been a sixth person serving as a getaway driver. The SUV — which was stolen and had a paper Delaware tag as a license plate — was found in a Southwest Philadelphia parking lot the day after the shooting.

Police also recently recovered a second car that was used to transport the shooters to and from the stolen SUV they used in the attack.

It was still unclear why the shooters had targeted the teens in the first place.

Staff writers Ellie Rushing and Chris Palmer contributed to this article.