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Suspect arrested in shooting of 16-year-old boy in Oxford Circle

Published  October 13, 2017 10:17pm EDT
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Philadelphia police say an arrest has been made in connection with a shooting of a 16-year-old in Oxford Circle.

16-year-old Messiah Chiverton remains in Aria-Torresdale hospital two days after he was shot.
He's in extremely critical condition.

"This is the hardest thing she's ever going to have to go through," said Rosita Patterson. She's his grandmother and says her daughter is too distraught to talk.

"This is senseless. Teenagers need to stop it. Everybody needs to stop it. There's not going to be another generation if they keep killing each other for nothing," said Patterson.

Police say it happened just before 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. According to police, 18-year-old Muhammed Goode is arrested and charged in the shooting. Police say officers on patrol saw Goode at Bustleton and Magee Avenue firing several shots at the victim then running off. Police caught him on the 2200 block of Unruh. They believe Messiah was the intended target.

"He was shot one time in the back of the head and was completely unresponsive. When he got to Aria-Torresdale Hospital he never regained consciousness," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Former Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer is Messiah's uncle.

"We're all praying that he recovers from this because at 16 it's too young to lose his life," said Sawyer.

Family members say Messiah is an 11th grader who is an all-around athlete. He plays basketball, football and lacrosse. Sawyer says what happened has changed everyone's life.

"The reality is that we've lost two young men not just one because that young man when he goes to jail he doesn't get a chance to live his life either," he said.

Police have not released a motive in the shooting and the family has says that's not the only question they have.

"My biggest concern is how did an 18-year old get their hands on a semi-automatic gun? I don't understand that. We need to work on trying to figure out how to get guns off the streets," said Messiah's grandmother Cynthia Chiverton.