8 Students Wounded As Philadelphia Sees 4 Shootings In 4 Days Involving City Buses

Eight high school students were shot at a Philadelphia city bus stop on Wednesday, marking the fourth incident of violence involving a city bus in as many days.

The eight teens were shot Wednesday afternoon as they waited to board a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus in northeast Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department said.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told WPVI-TV that the students, ages 15 to 17, were hit with gunfire when three men got off the bus and started firing.

“At some point when the bus is pulling up and the kids are converging to get on the bus, three individuals exit that vehicle and then [fire] multiple times,” Bethel said, according to WPVI-TV.

One student was in critical condition and the other seven were listed as stable after being taken to hospitals, according to WTFX-TV in Philadelphia.

The latest shooting took place just hours after Chief of SEPTA Transit Police Charles Lawson gave a press conference saying officers “are going to be aggressive” in tackling crime following three deadly shootings involving SEPTA buses in the past three days.

The rash of gun violence began Sunday night when a man was shot and killed after he got into an argument with another man on a SEPTA bus.

On Monday afternoon, a 17-year-old boy was killed and four others were wounded when a gunman opened fire on a group of teens waiting at a SEPTA bus stop.

And on Tuesday, a 37-year-old man was fatally shot while riding a bus in southwest Philadelphia.

No arrests have been made in any of the shootings. The Philadelphia Police Department said further updates will be provided on Wednesday’s shooting “as the situation unfolds.”