Photos of suspects in Philadelphia shooting of Upper Darby High School student on SEPTA bus released
Four suspects are wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of an Upper Darby High School student on a SEPTA bus in West Philadelphia over the weekend, police said Monday.
The shooting in the area of 40th Street and Girard Avenue stemmed from a fight and left Zahkir Whitfield, a 10th grade student at Upper Darby High School, dead.
Police said the four suspects fled westbound on Girard Avenue toward 41st Street after the shooting. Three of them boarded the bus in the area of Girard and Ridge avenues, according to police. The fourth suspect joined them on the bus later, police said.
Whitfield was shot in the chest and taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just after 1:15 p.m. Saturday, police said.
Philadelphia police said they're offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction for the homicide.
"He was a good kid"
On Monday, friends and former classmates of Whitfield at Upper Darby High School said they were still processing the loss.
CJ Harley, 18, said he used to coach Whitfield through the Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) league, where Whitfield played point guard.
"For him to be like my little brother — because that's how we look at each other, as brothers — for it to be him, it was heartbreaking," Harley said.
Harley added that Whitfield was a talented basketball player and a friend with whom he shared a close bond.
"How I would describe him is, he was chill, laid back, relaxed, mature," Harley said. "Stayed to himself. Fun — we used to have fun. He'd make his friends laugh, make people laugh."
Kris Fernandez, 19, graduated from Upper Darby High School last year. He said while he and Whitfield weren't close, they were acquaintances, and he always thought highly of him.
"He was a good kid; he stayed out of trouble. I was surprised when I heard that [he died]," Fernandez said. "He was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time."
