Philly teen dies after July 4 shooting

Police are searching for a man who opened fire on a large crowd of people in the city's Mantua section after the July 4 fireworks, killing one teenager and injuring two others.

Kyle Featherstone, 16, a junior at Simon Gratz High School, died shortly after 10 p.m. Monday from injuries to his head and chest.

Featherstone was walking home from the fireworks with friends shortly before midnight Sunday when the unidentified gunman fired into the crowd near 34th and Haverford Streets.

Police do not believe Featherstone, of the 3800 block of Olive Street, was the intended target of the shooting, Philadelphia Capt. James Clark said.

"We don't know who they were shooting at, but we don't believe it was" Featherstone, Clark said. "That's something we're still trying to figure out."

Two other males, 17 and 19, were injured. One of the teenagers was a friend of Featherstone's, but the other was merely walking nearby on the crowded sidewalk. Both have been treated and released.

Police are still trying to nail down a description of the gunman. Anyone who saw the shooting is asked to call the homicide unit at 215-686-3334.

"There were a lot of people out there, and we're hoping someone from the community will come forward," Clark said.

Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen family members gathered in the living room of Featherstone's home to talk about his obituary and funeral arrangements.

"All I know, he was on his way home from the fireworks. My daughter said some kids out there were fighting," said Featherstone's mother, Patricia. "They ran to the fight."

A short time later, she said, the phone starting ringing with word that her son had been shot.

Featherstone was the third youngest of seven children. He was raised in South Philadelphia until the family moved to Mantua about four years ago. He was looking forward to his junior year, "his prom year," said his sister Latrice.

While talking about Kyle, family members remembered his love of cereal and milk – Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, any type of cereal. "It didn't really matter," one man said. "Cereal was cereal."

"I could cook a whole meal and all he would eat is cereal and milk," his mother said.

Latrice Featherstone said her brother was the "con man" and practical joker in the family.

"If he was here right now, everybody would be laughing," she said. "He didn't know how to dance, but he would try. Every time he tried to dance, he'd end up on the floor."