A shooting behind a high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, left one teenager dead and four others wounded, the Philadelphia Police Department said.
Two individuals opened fire on a group of students as they finished a scrimmage game Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. on the Roxborough High School football field, according to a police statement obtained by the Daily Caller. The bullets struck five students, killing a 14-year-old boy who sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. The boy, later identified as Nicholas Elizalde, was pronounced dead at 5:09 p.m, according to the police statement.
The shooting injured four other students, the first being a 17-year-old male who suffered from gunshot wounds in his right arm and left leg and remains in stable condition, police said in the statement. A 14-year-old male sustained a gunshot wound in his left thigh; a 15-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound in his left leg; and the fifth victim, a 14-year-old male, sustained a graze wound to the right ankle.
“We have at least two shooters that opened fire on this group of students who were pretty much finishing up a game,” Philadelphia First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said during a press conference Tuesday. (RELATED: California High School Football Coach Shot While Breaking Up A Fight)
The shooters are believed to have fled the scene on foot, Stanford said, adding there are several cameras that police are preparing to pull in order to investigate the case further.
“There is one family, that their son won’t make it home today, and that’s the big part of this,” Stanford said.
The investigation is in the preliminary stages and police ask that any additional information be reported to them by calling Homicide at 215-686-3334, 215-686-TIPS (8477) or 911. There is no confirmed information about the suspects and no arrests have currently been made.
Stanford urged parents to have conversations with their children surrounding the shooting in order to prevent such incidents from occurring.
“Death is final. I know a lot of kids see things, and see TV, and they hear things, but I don’t know how many of them understand that this is final,” he said. “Death is final, you don’t come back from that. So, I guess that the message I can say is have that important conversation with your kids.”
Roxborough High School Principal Kristin Williams Smalley issued a statement Tuesday offering support for those impacted.
“This letter is to inform you of an incident that occurred this afternoon. Following a football scrimmage, there was a shooting outside of Roxborough High School that impacted at least two Roxborough students,” the statement read. “The School District of Philadelphia’s Emergency/Crisis Response Team and a school-based team of social workers and counselors will be on-site as needed to support students and staff as they process and grieve this tragedy.”