Philadelphia police launch manhunt for 16-year-old suspect in shooting outside high school

Police are looking for 16-year-old Dayron Burney-Thorn, who last week killed a 14-year-old and injured four other teens after a soccer game in an ambush outside a high school in Philadelphia.

The teen is the first suspect identified since five people jumped from a parked SUV on Sept. 27 and opened fire on teens running away from a sports field at Roxborough High School.

Nicholas Elizalde, 14, from a Havertown suburb, was killed and three other teens were rushed to a hospital. One was treated on the spot.

Police say the gunmen were minors. One of the gunmen chased a 17-year-old victim down the street, shot him in the leg and arm, and tried to shoot while standing over the victim, but the gun jammed or ran out of bullets.

Police are also looking for a sixth person who was in the vehicle.

Police said on Tuesday that Burney-Thorn is wanted on active warrants for murder charges and multiple counts of attempted murder, as well as criminal conspiracy, theft, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence and firearms offenses. He should be considered “armed and dangerous,” police said.

The shooting drew national attention in the US amid a flurry of mass shootings that have become chillingly commonplace amid the staggering murder rate in the country.

Police say the gunmen were minors. One of the gunmen chased a 17-year-old victim down the street, shot him in the leg and arm, and tried to shoot while standing over the victim, but the gun jammed or ran out of bullets.

The shooting drew national attention in the US amid a flurry of mass shootings that have become chillingly commonplace amid the staggering murder rate in the country

Local new stations streamed helicopter footage of officers cordoning off the school’s area as a victim was placed in a police car and drove away from the school’s parking lot

The shooting happened around 4:30 PM on Fairway Terrace near Roxborough High School, in the Roxborough suburb

The deceased student was 14 years old, police confirmed on Tuesday as they continue to search for the killers who are still present

An investigator works on the scene where multiple people were shot near Roxborough High School in Philadelphia

It also came just after Philadelphia surpassed 400 homicides for the year, just slightly behind the pace of last year’s toll, which ended up being the highest in at least six decades.

At a news conference late in the afternoon, police officials declined to say whether they believe the suspect was one of the five gunmen or the refugee’s driver. Captain Jason Smith said investigators are looking at seven other people — both teens and young adults — and believe “some or most” will turn out to be suspects wanted in the crime.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw urged those responsible to “turn themselves in.”

“We know who you are, and you’re only delaying the inevitable,” she said. “And all you’re doing by hiding is continuing to re-victimize the families of those you’ve harmed and your own as well.”

Five school football players were shot in a drive-by-style shooting outside a high school in suburban Philadelphia

Officers said they arrived at the scene and found two 14-year-olds, a 17-year-old and another victim with gunshot wounds.

The 14-year-old who eventually died was punched in the chest

Smith said investigators were still trying to determine whether an incident, such as a lunchroom dispute, preceded the shooting and whether the shooting was related to other shootings police are investigating.

Police have said Elizalde is not believed to have been one of the intended targets. The teens who were taken to hospital were all in stable condition after the shooting.

Hours before the shooting, Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, had signed an order banning firearms and deadly weapons from the city’s indoor and outdoor recreational areas, including parks, basketball courts and swimming pools.

A judge has barred the city from enforcing that injunction, siding with a legal challenge, citing state law that prohibits any city or county from enacting gun control measures.

Outlaw said she was concerned about “an entire generation of children” who had come to believe that “life on the streets is the only way” and that the way to settle a score was with a firearm.

“And what these kids unfortunately don’t realize is that some of the solutions they’re coming up with are final,” she said. “This is the end for them. There’s no turning back. They’re ruining their future and they’re ruining families.”