Father killed, 6-year-old boy and 2nd man in critical condition, after gunman fires at car in West Philadelphia

The shooting occurred Wednesday night on the 5300 block of Baltimore Avenue.

The shooting occurred Wednesday night on the 5300 block of Baltimore Avenue. (NBC10)

The shooting occurred Wednesday night on the 5300 block of Baltimore Avenue. (NBC10)

This article originally appeared on NBC10.

A man was killed while his 6-year-old son and a second man are fighting for their lives after a gunman opened fire at their car in West Philadelphia, Wednesday night.

The 6-year-old boy, his 29-year-old father, and a 31-year-old man were inside a car traveling along the 5300 block of Baltimore Avenue at 7:18 p.m. when a gunman opened fire.

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The boy was shot once in the stomach and once in the lower back, the 29-year-old man was shot twice in the chest and the 31-year-old man was shot once in the chest.

The shooting caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash on 55th and Baltimore. The 31-year-old man managed to flag down police and the three victims were then taken to Presbyterian Hospital. The 29-year-old man was pronounced dead at 9:09 p.m. while his son and the second man are both in critical condition.

No arrests have been made, no weapon has been recovered and police have not released a description of the gunman.

The shooting is the latest incident of gun violence that has hit Philadelphia this year with many children being caught in the crossfire.

As of Tuesday night, the city had already seen 142 homicides in 2021, according to Philadelphia Police Department crime data. That is a 33% increase from the same time last year, which was already a year that ended with the second-highest homicide total that the city had seen in six decades.  Meanwhile, statistics from the Office of the Controller show 442 nonfatal shootings as of April 12 of this year.

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There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.

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