Family of 14-year-old Philadelphia boy chased by gunmen, shot and killed, speaks out

Family speaks out after teen chased by gunmen, shot and killed in Feltonville

Samir Jefferson's family is speaking out after police say the 14-year-old was waiting for the bus when he was chased by two people and shot 18 times on a Philadelphia street.

FELTONVILLE - The family of another young teen, gunned down on the streets of Philadelphia, is speaking out, while police search for his killers.

Desiree Goodson wants her son back.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see my son. That’s my son, I birthed him. He wanted to be somebody. He wanted to be known," she cried.

Samir Jefferson, a 14-year-old Thomas A. Edison High School freshman was waiting for the bus near Wyoming and Rising Sun, in Feltonville, Monday afternoon, around 3:30, when police say, two people got out of a car and chased him, firing off about 35 rounds.

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Samir was hit 18 times and ran a block before collapsing.

The Rite Aid at the busy intersection was covered in bullet holes Tuesday.

Jefferson’s brother said he told him he was going to Burger King after school. He has to take two buses to get home.

"I was with him before I left school. We did everything together. We went to school together, we ate together. We did everything," Khalil Jefferson described his relationship to his slain brother.

"Whatever it was that drove what happened yesterday afternoon, we may never be able to stop that, cause there were people that were intentionally going to take a young man’s life," explained Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Investigations Ben Naish.

Jefferson’s family says his Instagram shows that he messaged someone a video of a fight approximately 15 minutes before he was killed. Police say social media drives a lot of the violence in the city and they are looking at whether or not it was a factor in this case.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is calling on more resources for students and a comprehensive, community-based strategy to address the violence crisis. Families of students have few solutions.

"Best thing you can do is bring them here, watch them walk in and pick them up. Is that crazy that it’s come to that? It’s sad," grandmother of a Thomas Edison High School student Brenda Gause, commented.

"I don’t care about no justice, I don’t care about retaliation, I just want my son back. None of that can help me get my son back," Goodson cried out.

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