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Youth football players dive for cover when shooting erupts in North Philadelphia
Children playing in a youth football game dove for cover Sunday night when police say a shooting erupted that sent stray gunfire into a Temple student's off-campus apartment.
PHILADELPHIA - Children playing in a youth football game dove for cover Sunday night when police say a shooting erupted that sent stray gunfire into a Temple student's off-campus apartment.
Video of the shooting posted by anti-violence social media account No Gun Zone shows people running amid the sound of gunfire, with some members of the 9U North Philadelphia Panthers and Blackhawks lying down and shielding themselves on the football field.
Authorities say a 14-year-old suffered a graze wound during the shooting. Vice President of the Panthers Nate Reed said some players were trampled during the chaos, and one child may have broken their arm.
Tragically, this is not the team's first encounter with gun violence. Reed said last August a barrage of gunfire erupted outside their field's gates as hundreds of kids were practicing and participating in other activities.
"We should be teaching tackling drills, blocking drills and things of that nature. We should not have to be teaching stop, drop and roll on the ground from bullets," Reed said.
Temple University Vice President of Public Safety Jennifer Griffin wrote in a letter to students that the football game was taking place "within the TU patrol zone." A bullet ripped through a student's off-campus apartment, but no injuries were reported.
The shooting was part of a particularly violent weekend in Philadelphia which included a deadly quadruple shooting and a shooting that injured a 13-year-old.
"Almost every corner of the city was touched by gun violence over the weekend," Griffin wrote. "We thank our police officers, detectives, and Philadelphia police for their dedication as we continue to work together."