July 02, 2021
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Philadelphia police responded to a home on the 5500 block of Whitby Avenue for a report of an accidental shooting that killed a 10-year-old girl on July 1.
A 10-year-old girl suffered fatal injuries in an apparent accidental shooting at a home in Southwest Philadelphia on Thursday night, police said.
The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. at a home along the 5500 block of Whitby Avenue.
Investigators said the child had a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was pronounced dead. The girl was not immediately identified.
Police have not announced any arrests or charges in connection with the incident.
The shooting comes a week after a 10-year-old boy fatally shot himself after finding a loaded gun at a home in the Nicetown-Tioga section of the city. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw lamented the loss of another young life in a preventable incident.
Less than 1 week after meeting w/ family in the hospital of a 10-year-old child who died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot, another 10-year-old has died in a similar fashion.These tragedies are completely preventable! It is the responsibility of adults to keep guns secure
— Danielle M. Outlaw (@PPDCommish) July 2, 2021
More than 100 juveniles have been victims of shootings in Philadelphia in 2021, up from 68 last year, according to the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. The interactive dashboard project, which uses statistics from Open Data Philly, is a collaboration between the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and The Initiative of Better Gun Violence Reporting.
