Vigil held for teen shot, killed in South Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) Hundreds of balloons went skyward as an entire neighborhood mourned the death of Asir Brown. The 16- year-old was gunned down over the July 4th holiday weekend.

His aunt addressed the crowd of more than 250 people about the violence. James Harris also spoke to the large crowd of mourners. He coached the teenage athlete since he was just 5 years old.

"It's tragedy. He was a good kid. He wasn't into the streets or nothing. Every little kid has a little trouble but he was a good kid," he said.

Police say they're searching for the two gunmen who opened fire on Asir and his friends at a backyard barbeque in the 1800 block of South 31st Street.

"We have some good direction on it, but we need someone to come forward and tell us who did this," said Philadelphia Homicide Unit Captain James Clark.

Investigators say 19 shots were fired from two different guns. They blew out windows and left a home strafed with gunfire. The shots came from a car driving down an alley between homes here. As the gunfire erupted, teenagers ran for their lives.

Homicide detectives say the fatal shooting may have been the result of bad blood between teens from 31st Street and the Wilson Park apartments. It may have also been over a girl. Police patrols have been stepped up.

There's a 20,000 reward leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.