Teen babysitter shot as children slept feet away in East Mount Airy apartment: police

Teen babysitter shot as children slept feet away in East Mount Airy

Police are searching for a suspect they say shot a 16-year-old boy who was babysitting two girls, ages 5 and 7, in an East Mount Airy apartment.

PHILADELPHIA - A knock at the door turned a night of babysitting into moments of terror for a 16-year-old and two young children overnight in East Mount Airy.

Officers arrived to find a teenager shot in the stomach and arm inside a family member's apartment on the 200 block of Cliveden Street.

He was rushed to a local hospital, where he is said to be in stable condition.

Police say the 16-year-old was babysitting two girls, ages 5 and 7, when he heard a knock at the door and at least six shots were fired.

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Bullet holes were found in the wall right where both girls were fast asleep on a couch.

"We’re very, very lucky that those two children were not struck by gunfire," Chief Small said.

Another teenager was also in the apartment at the time, but they were also not injured.

Police say a motive and suspect description are still unknown, but hope surveillance cameras inside and outside the complex will help gather some evidence.

FOX 29’s Shaynah Ferreria spoke to Reagan Watkins who lives in the apartment building and says she has major safety concerns.

"I don’t feel safe knowing someone can just come in and knock on my door and just shoot me," said Watkins.

The resident told FOX 29 she’s had previous safety concerns that she brought to the apartment complex’s management company's attention. She claims the apartment complex’s indoor camera system is broken.

"I don’t know about the outside ones, but we have been explicitly told by management that the cameras inside do not work at all…It’s very frustrating to know that we have no type of security, nothing like that."

A representative of the building, managed by Imperial Management Group, sent out a mass text to residents including Watkins, that read: "This is an isolated incident and there is no cause for concern."

FOX 29 reached out to the New Jersey-based property management company for comment, but no one responded.