Nearly 200 people under 18 years old have been shot in Philadelphia in 2022
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A terrifying shootout in Kensington Thursday night left a teenager dead and residents hiding in their homes. This is now part of a troubling trend.
The number of Philadelphia teens shot or killed from gun violence is surging.
On top of another young life lost, Philadelphia police tell CBS3 the shooting was also troubling because of the massive gun power involved.
Officers collected more than 100 pieces of ballistic evidence from two handguns and an AK 47 style rifle.
A barrage of bullets blasted along Pelthorpe Steeet – a small block in Kensington – as a massive gun battle Thursday night was captured on camera. You can even see a gunmen shield behind a car, which forced neighbors to duck for cover in their own homes.
"It sounded like fireworks and then all of a sudden all hell broke loose," one neighbor said.
On Friday, you can see some of the damage left behind, like bullet holes in a shattered car window and markings on the ground where police found dozens of shell cases.
In all, investigators collected 118 pieces of ballistic evidence.
Police say a 17-year-old boy was killed in the shooting and was targeted. His name has not yet been released.
"Luckily a lot of our neighbors were not out like we usually be," a man said. "Because it could have been worse. It could have been a disaster here."
Eyewitness News has found the number of Philadelphia shooting victims under 18 – both injured or killed -- has surpassed 180 so far this year. That is the highest number of children shot in the city in recent years.
"For a lot of these young men, really, all they have is their street credibility," Chip Gallagher said.
Gallagher is a psychologist who studies crime and attributes the rise in young gunshot victims in part on social media beefs.
"When there's turf wars, virtual turf wars, they escalate quickly," said Gallagher, who's also a sociology and criminal justice chair at La Salle University. "If that street credibility is challenged, if some say they're seen as feminine or not tough, then they're gonna take matters into their own action."
No arrests were made in the shooting.
