Community shaken by Kensington double shooting that wounded 4-year-old girl
Community shaken by Kensington double shooting that wounded 4-year-old girl
A Philadelphia community is left shaken after 4-year-old girl and her father were shot while standing in the open front door of a home Wednesday night. Meanwhile, community groups are making efforts to put an end to gun violence in the city that far too often impacts children.
PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia community is left shaken after 4-year-old girl and her father were shot while standing in the open front door of a home Wednesday night.
"I am hurt by what happened, it's a tragic incident, it's really sad, this should not haber happened on our block," a neighbor named Jasmine told FOX 29.
Investigators say the child and her 24-year-old father were shot when someone opened fire outside a property on the 2000 block of East Clementine Street.
The pair were rushed to St. Christopher's Hospital, each suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach, and placed in stable condition.
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"She's definitely in my prayers, oh my God," Wanda Maddox, a neighbor, said. "I had just woke up and I heard the shot; she's beautiful, she's adorable."
The brazen shooting is the latest in a troubling occurrence of shootings in Philadelphia that involve innocent children.
Zakariyya Abdul-Rahman, President and CEO of Nicetown CDC, lost both his young sons to gun violence and now works on efforts to prevent killings in the city.
"It's very challenging, but there is a hope and a bright light," Abdul-Rahman said. "We have to provide that hope by creating opportunity and creating safe havens, we have to create recreational space and we have to create activity."
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Authorities say two people, including a 4-year-old girl, were shot while standing in the open doorway of a Philadelphia home on Wednesday night.
Events like this weekend's 21st Give Back Festival will include violence interrupters with Pushing Progress Philly, a group that responds to communities directly to intervene with youth before things escalate.
"You have to outwardly go into these environments with no security, no presence, just yourself and your belief system, but the objective is to give these young people a voice because a lot of them just want to be heard," Outreach Coordinator with Nicetown CDC and Pushing Progress Philly Khaliff Young said.
Senator Sharif Street feels the interrupters have directly contributed to a slight decrease in gun violence, but there's still tremendous work to be done.
"Ultimately we can't get where we need to go without responsible gun laws, but things can get better and that's an important part of it," Street said.