Two men have been charged in connection with last Wednesday's shooting outside a North Philadelphia elementary school that left a 10-year-old boy in critical condition.
Kennell Spady, 19, and Kareem Johnson, 20, were charged on Saturday with attempted murder and aggravated assault for their roles in the incident. A third man was arrested but has not been charged in connection with the incident. He remains in jail, however, on unrelated charges, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The gunfight broke out between two groups of men near T. M. Peirce Elementary School, located on 23rd and Cambria streets, on Wednesday morning at approximately 8:30 a.m. Third-grader Faheem Thomas-Childs was struck in the face, and 56-year-old crossing guard Debra Smith was struck in the foot by stray bullets.
Childs has been in critical condition since Wednesday and remains on life support.
Philadelphia Police are uncertain about the number of men firing guns. They said the shooting started after an argument between the occupants of a double-parked car on the 2200 Cambria block and three men walking by.
According to the police, over the course of the incident, the two groups exchanged 94 shots from six guns, hitting buildings and parked cars.
Police are also unsure whether the men arrested fired the bullets that wounded the two victims. Both had outstanding warrants for firearm-related charges.
The arrests were a result of cooperation between police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, but not from any witness involvement.
Despite the $65,000 reward that the city has offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of the people responsible, witnesses have been reluctant to come forward. According to the Inquirer, neighborhood residents who have given information to the police in the past have been killed, and as a result, the neighbors are afraid to speak up.
Police are still asking anyone who knows anything about the incident to come forward, and J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has promised witness relocation for anyone afraid of repercussions.
Peirce principal Shively Willingham has repeatedly criticized the police for not being more active in preventing crime in the school area. He said he has asked the police to patrol around the school during opening times.
Police, however, said that shootings like Wednesday's incident could not be prevented. There have been several reported incidents of gunfire in the neighborhood in recent days, which police have blamed on warring gang factions.
The homicide rate in Philadelphia has risen in the last two years. There were 348 murders last year, compared with 288 in 2002. So far, there have been 40 this year -- almost one per day.
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