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New surveillance video released as Philadelphia police continue to search for the suspects in the Roxborough shooting
Authorities have released surveillance footage that shows five suspects running down as they fired more than 60 shots at the group of teens.
ROXBOROUGH - The City of Philadelphia is offering $45,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in a deadly shooting near Roxborough High School.
Philadelphia police officers responded to the 300 block of Fairway Terrace just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday for reports of a shooting.
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Philadelphia shooting: New surveillance video shows shooters the moment they begin firing at football players at Roxborough High School
Philadelphia police have released surveillance video showing five armed suspects they say jumped from an SUV and opened fire on a group of high school football players outside Roxborough High School.
Police say they found four teens suffering from gunshot wounds and rushed them to local hospitals. Another teen was treated at the scene for a graze wound, according to authorities.
One teen, 14-year-old Nicholas Elizalde of Havertown, Pennsylvania, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and he later died, officials say.
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Video: Suspects sought in shooting of Roxborough High School football players
Philadelphia police have released surveillance video showing five armed suspects they say jumped from an SUV and opened fire on a group of high school football players outside Roxborough High School. The shooting left one teen dead and four others injured.
On Wednesday, city, police and school officials held a press conference to provide additional details on the ongoing investigation.
Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said more than 60 spent shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Evidence is still being processed by investigators, according to Vanore.
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During the press conference, Captain Jason Smith announced that four of the five victims, including Elizalde, were members of the Roxborough football team.
Police released surveillance video of the shooting, which shows five suspects getting out of a vehicle, described as a "light-colored SUV", firing more than 60 shots at the group of teens as they walked down the street following a football scrimmage.
"There were strike marks all over the place - sides of buildings, vehicles," Captain Smith explained. "We do believe that one or two of the individuals within that group were specifically targeted."
According to police, one of the shooters stood over a victim and continued to fire his weapon, but the gun had run out of bullets. "The shooter runs up to the victim as he lay helpless on the ground, stands over top of him and continues firing," Captain Smith said. "The only thing that stopped this individual from firing is that he, apparently, had run out of bullets and his slide had locked to the rear."
Vanore says investigators believe the shooting was targeted, but the motive remains unknown as police investigate several theories.
Smith says police still need to locate and interview witnesses who were present during the time of the shooting.
Philadelphia School District Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington, Sr. also spoke at the press conference, extending a thank you to police and condolences to the victims of the shooting.
Dr. Watlington went on to say, "The last 24 hours have been devastating to the school district and our school communities. It is absolutely unimaginable that a group of students participating in a wholesome activity would be fired upon as they walked near a school. And, sadly, yesterday’s incident is the latest in what has been a year’s long crisis in our city. A year's long crisis of gun violence in our city. A crisis that continues to have lasting impacts on our schools across the school district. All of us in the school district are grieving. Yet, despite our grief, our many caring leaders and educators across the district are once again wrapping their arms around schools and our students with as much care and support as they can during this extremely difficult time."
A district spokesperson said football games have been canceled for the week at Roxborough High School.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also spoke at the press conference, advocating for stricter gun laws nationally. "It wasn’t that long ago, it was May, after the Uvalde shooting in Texas, another school shooting, when Governor Wolf was there and I was there, as well. And, he was asking for reporting for lost and stolen guns in 72 hours. To close loopholes and require background checks on gun sales. To require safe storage of firearms, to keep guns out of the wrong hands. To have red flag laws. And, what we have from this legislature is absolutely nothing. And, that is what Governor Wolf has had to deal with his entire time in office. What we have from this legislature, and I am speaking of one party, what we have from them is the talking points of the NRA and kids getting shot outside of schools. And, that is utterly unacceptable."
Police say police presence will be increased at upcoming football scrimmages across Philadelphia, especially at games where the department anticipates problems.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw was not present at the press conference.
When asked, authorities said she was out sick.
"I helped two different kids who were shot get into police cruisers," neighbor Budd Reigner stated.
Reigner lives just steps away from the tragedy and says something must be done to prevent further violence. "To see that child…that child was 14. God bless those parents. I would never want to go through what they’re going through, but to see him get loaded into a fire rescue, just see it and then find out on the news that the child died."