4-year-old boy shot while waiting for haircut inside barbershop: Police

By KYW Staff, Jasmine Payoute

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A 4-year-old boy was shot inside a barbershop in Philadelphia’s Olney section on Sunday, police say. The shooting happened on the 5000 block of Rising Sun Avenue just after 5 p.m.

Police say the boy was shot once in the right shoulder. He was placed in stable condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

“Too many times,” a woman said. “One too many times. One too many shootings.”

During the shooting, there were numerous customers inside the store, including a large number of children. With Monday being the first day of school, many parents brought their children in for haircuts.

At around 5:15 p.m., police say a man entered the barbershop, walked into the back of the store and started arguing with another man. Shortly after the argument, police say one of the men fired a gun at least three times. One of those bullets struck the 4-year-old boy inside waiting to get a haircut.

“You have a situation where you have children just waiting to prepare themselves for the next day of school, as a matter of fact, one of the mothers was so traumatized that she said there’s no way her children are going to be able to go to school tomorrow,” Inspector D F Pace said.

The father of the 4-year-old boy brought him to his car and rushed him to the hospital, but he was involved in an accident at the intersection of 13th and Grange Streets in Fern Rock, which further injured the child, according to police.

“I heard a big boom, I thought he hit somebody but I don’t know,” Rasheeta Patterson said.

Authorities say after the other driver learned that the 4-year-old boy was shot, the person volunteered to take them to the hospital. The injuries from the gunshot and accident were eventually both stabilized.

It was initially believed the 4-year-old was shot twice, but the additional injury was from the crash.

Police say there are numerous cameras inside the barbershop. One of the people inside said they recognized the individual police believe is responsible for the shooting and gave authorities a name.

So far, no arrests have been made and no weapons were recovered, according to police.

On Sunday, every eyewitness CBS3 spoke with said they lost someone to gun violence. They are tired of hearing stories like this one.

“There needs to be more policies on gun control and I honestly believe that they should start teaching kids what happens when you pull a gun,” Patterson said.

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