4-year-old Philadelphia girl shot in father's arms
Four men in a red car approached a father and his 4-year-old daughter as they were walking late Friday night in Southwest Philadelphia. Police have suggested the father might have been the target.
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A 4-year-old girl was shot in Southwest Philadelphia Friday night as her father held her in his arms, police said.
Four men in a red car approached the pair as they were walking on the sidewalk about 11 p.m. on the 5900 block of Springfield Avenue in the city's Kingsessing neighborhood, Capt. Drew Techner told reporters.
A gunman riding in the backseat opened fire, hitting the girl in the leg, according to Techner. The shooter, described as wearing a hoodie to hide himself, fled in the car with the others. The child was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was reported in stable condition. Her father was not injured.
Police do not have a motive for the shooting, but told CBS Philly they believe the father was targeted.
The girl is the fourth young child to be shot in Philadelphia in the last two months. On Oct. 21, a 3-year-old Tioga boy was wounded when an older brother shot him in the forehead. On Nov. 9, a 2-year-old Olney boy died after he shot himself in the head with a gun that had been reported stolen in Cheltenham in 2015. And on Nov. 26, a 3-year-old girl shot herself with a gun she found in her Kingsessing home, sustaining a severe leg injury.
Most of the shootings involved easy access to guns. Newly elected District Attorney Larry Krasner has promised to enforce the city's ordinance requiring owners to tell police when their guns are lost or stolen.