Police Shoot And Kill 12-Year-Old Boy In Philadelphia

Police in Philadelphia fatally shot a 12-year-old boy in the back moments after a bullet struck an unmarked police car on Tuesday evening.

The victim, identified as Thomas Siderio, was pronounced dead at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center minutes after he was shot while allegedly holding a gun and running away from two officers, police said. Authorities described him as a white male.

“The life of a young man was cut tragically short, and we should all be questioning how we as a society have failed him and so many other young people like him,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement Wednesday.

In her statement, Outlaw said that “a young child with a gun in their hand purposely fired a weapon at our officers and by miracle, none of the officers suffered life threatening injuries.”

However, Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Naish said Wednesday that police were still investigating who fired at the vehicle, the Associated Press reported. He also could not say if Siderio was pointing a gun at the police vehicle while fleeing.

Just because the victim was running away from the police and was shot in the back, Naish said, “doesn’t mean that he wasn’t continuing to be a threat to the officer.”

None of the four officers were wearing body cameras, authorities said.

The officers have been placed on administrative duty following what Outlaw promised will be a “fair and thorough investigation” into the case.