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A 3-year-old child was shot during a fight between tow-truck drivers in Port Richmond

The child was in stable condition, police said. They are looking for the shooter.

File photo of a police car.
File photo of a police car.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

An argument between two tow-truck drivers in Port Richmond took a dangerous turn early Sunday morning when shots were fired, striking a 3-year-old child, Philadelphia police said.

The child was hospitalized but in stable condition after the shooting, which occurred in the parking lot of a Jiffy Lube on Aramingo Avenue about 12:15 a.m. Police said tow trucks often idle in the area to compete for business, because drag races there frequently result in crashes.

The child was inside the cab of a tow truck when three bullets pierced its door, according to police. One bullet struck the child in the leg.

No arrests were made overnight. Police said they were still looking for the gunman, a male who drove a black truck with a tow hitch and tinted windows.

The crime follows a particularly deadly year for children in Philadelphia, when more than 137 were shot and 50 killed by gunfire, The Inquirer has reported. Shootings in January were down 20% from the same period last year, police data show.