6-Year-Old Girl Shot While Playing with Other Children in Philadelphia

A six-year-old girl was shot on Monday while playing outside with other children in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia.

A six-year-old girl was shot on Monday, May 17, 2021. She had been playing outside with other children in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia. Her parents were seated in a nearby parked car.

The young girl had been playing outside the 3800 block of Wyalusing Avenue. A group of young men, who were being chased by a black sedan, ran towards the playing children, and gunshots ran out.

She ran to her parents, who were inside a parked car, and told them she had been shot. CBS local Philadelphia reported that she was doing okay after being shot in the leg.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw shared that this is a sad reminder that children as young as six know the reality of gun violence all too well. Outlaw said to the news outlet:

"Once everything was said and done, the 6-year-old told her parents that she had been shot. How does a 6-year-old know what getting shot is like?"

Outlaw discussed the incident with 6 ABC. She stated that it was disgusting that she was speaking to the news outlet about a six-year-old getting shot. She remarked that it was more shocking that the young child knew what had happened.

The Police Commissioner questioned why a six-year-old knows what gunfire sounds like and what being shot means. She explained that it was heartwrenching that a young child is aware of this level of violence.

Another child was a victim of gunfire on Mother's Day this year.

CBS spoke to Oronde McClain, who survived being shot in the back of his head at ten years old. He told the outlet that he remembered his own tragic ordeal each time he heard a child was shot.

In 2000, McClain had been at a corner store with his mother when he was shot. He spent weeks in a coma fighting for his life. Although he overcame the shooting, he still lives with the trauma of the shooting as he explained:

"I still have bad dreams, waking up thinking somebody is shooting me. I tried to commit suicide 27 times."

McClain pled urged all to help to break the cycle of violence by young people towards other young people. He stressed the seriousness of gun usage and how it can end someone's life.

So far, no arrests have been made in connection to the shooting of the six-year-old. Fortunately, no one else was hit, but it remains unclear as to why the shooting occurred.

Another child was a victim of gunfire on Mother's Day this year. A 14-year-old boy, Eddie Thigpen, was fatally shot on Sunday, May 9, 2021, at West Garfield Park in Chicago.

He had been found shot in the abdomen at around 9:30 pm. The boy had been severely hurt and was unable to talk to explain what happened. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he later died.