AT least eight people are believed to have been injured following a shooting at a bus stop.
The reported drive-by shooting occurred near the Rising Sun Avenue bus stop in the northeast section of Philadelphia at around 3 pm on Wednesday.
According to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, eight students between the ages of 15 and 17 were shot after three gunmen exited a vehicle near a Dunkin' store and opened fire.
"At some point when the bus is pulling up and the kids are converging to get on the bus, three individuals exit that vehicle and then discharges multiple times," said Bethel.
Police said over 30 shots were fired at the scene.
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One of the victims, a 16-year-old boy was shot nine times and he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Four victims were taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital.
The seven other victims included two 15-year-olds, four 16-year-olds, and a 17-year-old.
Three suffered gunshot wounds to their legs or lower body, WTXF-TV reported.
Philadelphia police are looking for at least three shooters and a driver who fled the scene in a dark-colored Hyundai Elantra.
Two buses of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the regional public transportation system in Philadelphia, were struck by gunfire, the outlet reported.
No one onboard the buses was injured.
Video obtained by the outlet showed multiple bullet holes in one of the bus' windows and frame.
Police have set up evidence markers at the scene of the shooting.
SEPTA VIOLENCE
Wednesday's incident is the fourth consecutive day a shooting has occurred involving a SEPTA bus or bus stop at three different sections across the city.
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The spate of violence began on Sunday evening when a 27-year-old man was killed getting off a SEPTA bus in the Oxford Circle area.
On Monday, two gunmen walked up to a SEPTA bus stop in the Ogontz neighborhood and opened fire, killing a 17-year-old boy.
Philadelphia police commissioner Kevin Bethel said the teen victim was targeted in the shooting.
"It definitely appears that this individual, our decedent, was targeted," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"The bus is stopped, people are starting to board the bus, and that's when we have two individuals come up and start to fire, shooting him and, unfortunately, killing him."
Two women, aged 48 and 71, were shot while onboard the bus, Bethel said.
A pair of 15-year-old boys were also grazed by bullets, police said.
Then, on Tuesday evening, a 37-year-old man was killed onboard a SEPTA bus near the Snyder Station in south Philadelphia.
After Wednesday's incident, SEPTA transit police chief Charles Lawson said law enforcement is going to take an "aggressive" approach to crime.
"We're going to enforce crime and we're going to do it aggressively - and we're not going to apologize for it," Lawson told reporters.
After the shooting on Wednesday,
Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony Watlington said crisis counselors will be at the school on Thursday to help any students impacted by the shooting.
Pennsylvania Mayor Cherelle Parker was devastated by the fourth shooting and vowed that the city would do everything they could to ensure it's residents safety.
"You need to know that we are going to do everything that we can to ensure your public health and safety and we don't apologize for using every legal and constitutional tool in our toolbelt in order to get that done," she said during the briefing.
