A Philadelphia teenager was killed in a drive-by shooting while riding his bike, police say

A Philadelphia teenager was fatally shot while riding his bicycle in North Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Authorities say Javeth Reynoso, 17, of the 2900 block of Lawrence Street, was riding his mountain bike near Second Street and Allegheny Avenue in the city’s Fairhill section when he was shot multiple times just before 11 p.m.

Police found Reynoso unresponsive and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Officers took him to Temple University Hospital, where he died minutes later.

Witnesses told authorities that at least one shooter was seen inside a pickup truck that fled the scene. Officers were reviewing surveillance footage in the area.

As of Friday afternoon, no one had been arrested. Attempts to reach Reynoso’s family were unsuccessful.

The killing was the latest shooting to claim the life of a young person in the city and a continuation of a spate of gun violence that began in 2020 and has yet to relent.

In the first 11 weeks of 2022, 106 people have been killed, the vast majority by a gun, according to police statistics. That is roughly equivalent to the number of people killed at the same point last year, the deadliest year on record.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw earlier this week lamented that shooting victims have become increasingly younger, saying “it’s important for all of us to recognize that public safety is an ecosystem.”

“We have to have comprehensive strategies,” she said, “not only investing in enforcement, but ensuring that there are services and programming for our young people to ensure that we are also addressing the prevention end.”