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A police car drives in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The new year is off to a violent start in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Police Department recorded 50 homicides in January, a 32% increase over last year, the deadliest in three decades. The tally, which includes the accidental shooting of a 9-year-old girl for which her father and 12-year-old brother have been charged, is the highest the city has reported at this point in the year since 2007.
Non-fatal shootings have also continued to surge. More than 140 people were shot this month, a 71% jump over this time last year.
The majority of people shot are Black men. The list of victims also includes nearly a dozen children under the age of 18.
5-Year-Old Fatally Shoots Girl in the Head Inside Philadelphia Home
On 1/21/21 at 6:36 AM EST
A 9-year-old girl was shot in the head and killed by a 5-year-old at a home in north Philadelphia, after the children had been left inside the house unsupervised with two guns, police said.
Police found the victim with a critical wound on the right side of her head at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, at the property on the 2300 block of North Bouvier Street.
She was left unattended at the time of the incident, with two other children aged 5 and 12. The 12-year-old alerted law enforcement after the shooting, police said.
At the time, the girl, her brother and cousin, all minors, were inside the home with no adult supervision, investigators said. The girl s cousin, who is 5-years-old, accidentally shot her, police told NBC10.
When police arrived it was another child who met them at the door and told officers the girl had been shot, according to Philadelphia Police Department Cpl. Jasmine Reilly.
The girl was rushed to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children around 11 a.m. and was pronounced dead around 1:50 p.m.
Krasner said several weapons were found inside the home and called the shooting unacceptable.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the Davis family for the terrible loss of a beloved child, Krasner wrote This tragedy was 100% preventable. Kids should not be allowed unsupervised access to firearms, period. We can hold both that a father has suffered a horrific tragedy, and that he is also criminally responsible for this loss.
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