Philadelphia teen shot 18 times while waiting for school bus

A 14-year-old Philadelphia boy was killed Monday afternoon after he was chased and gunned down while waiting for a bus to take him home from school, authorities said.

Philadelphia police have charged two men with the murder of a 14-year-old boy who was shot 18 times while waiting for a bus to take him home from school Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Samir Jefferson, a freshman at Thomas A. Edison High School, was waiting for the bus around 3:30 p.m. in a North Philadelphia neighborhood when two unknown gunmen exited a car and chased him before firing at least 36 shots, police said.

Jefferson was shot 18 times throughout his body and died at a local hospital a short time later, police said.

Samir Jefferson, center, was a freshman at Thomas A. Edison High School.
(Handout / FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

“Every time I close my eyes, I see my son,” the teen’s mother, Desiree Goodson, told FOX29 Philadelphia. “That’s my son, I birthed him. He wanted to be somebody. He wanted to be known.”

The exterior wall of a nearby Rite Aid was riddled with bullet holes, all marked for evidence, from the hail of bullets, the station reported.

The exterior wall of a nearby Rite Aid was left riddled with bullet holes from the shooting.
(FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

On Wednesday, police announced the arrest of Quadir Johnson, 26, and 21-year-old Kyair Garnett in connection to the murder of Jefferson. Both men were charged with murder, conspiracy, violation of the uniform firearms act, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and other related offenses.

Garnett was also charged with receipt of stolen property and unauthorized use of an automobile, the station reported.

The incident report said no motive for the shooting was known as of early Tuesday.

Jefferson’s family told the station that he apparently sent someone a video showing a fight over Instagram just 15 minutes before he was gunned down. Police said investigators were looking into whether the video was a factor in the shooting as social media often drives violence in the city.

Two gunmen fired at least 36 shots at Jefferson, striking the boy 18 times throughout his body. He died at a local hospital a short time later, police said.
(Handout / FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

Philadelphia has recorded 508 homicides in 2021 as of the end of day Monday, the highest number since at least 1990 and 12% more than the same time last year, according to police department statistics. Those homicides include more than 30 victims under the age of 18.

Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, blamed the uptick in violence on the flow of illegal guns into the city and chided state lawmakers for not doing enough to enact tighter gun laws. 

“The volume of guns that are in circulation in our communities is at a record high,” he said last week while surrounded by city leaders and community members at a news conference. “[Crime guns] join a sea of illegal and legal guns that are accessible in the heat of the moment, turning what could have stayed an argument into a homicide.” 

Fox News’ Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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