14-year-old injured in possible accidental shooting inside Philadelphia home: Police
Philadelphia police are investigating after a 14-year-old boy was shot inside a home on Thursday evening.
It happened around 6 p.m. inside a home on the 1500 block of North 17th Street.
Police say the teen was found in a third-floor bedroom with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition.
Early information indicates a group of teens was handling a gun when it discharged, striking the victim. At least 15 people, mostly teenagers, were inside the home at the time, authorities said.
One spent shell casing was recovered.
"We're being told that the shooter was also about 14 years of age, and he fled from the property after the shot was fired," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Police believe the shooter is known to the victim and several witnesses, and this may have been an accident.
"If you're handling a firearm and the firearm goes off, and you know someone gets shot and there's blood, you're gonna get scared, and that's what we believe happened," said Small.
Investigators are still searching for the weapon and working to determine who owns the gun. The victim does not live at the home but visits family and friends there often, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.
