3 Teens Shot Dead in Philadelphia Ambush
Three teens were shot in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening over an alleged high school feud.
Police say that the teens were killed over a feud involving the stepson's of the suspect Alex Barreto.
Barreto, 30, ambushed the 1997 Toyota Corolla on Tuesday night, shooting around a dozen shots into the vehicle where seven teens where sitting.
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Barreto was arrested on Wednesday evening in a suburban motel room.
According to authorities, the teens drove the vehicle to a house where a planned fight was set to take place on Tuesday evening between the boys in the car and Barreto’s stepsons.
Two of the victims, Joshua Soto and Dante Lugo, died on the spot. Both were 14 years old.
Another victim, Javier Orlandi, died in the hospital on Wednesday around the time that Barreto was arrested.
“There very easily could have been seven dead teenagers in that car. He just randomly fired,” Police Capt. James Clark told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The dispute apparently began at school and continued on social networking site Facebook.
The city of Philadelphia witnessed substantial teen violence this past summer. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter issued a curfew of 9 p.m. for individuals under 18 years of age over a string of flash mob incidents involving Philadelphia youth.
In October, the Philadelphia City Council passed a youth curfew that stirred controversy among those who disapproved of the law. They argued against providing funding for extra patrol services when city schools and social programs that target youth were already underfunded.
The incidences this past summer in Philadelphia are part of a growing problem teenagers in America face today.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2007 5,764 people aged 10 to 24 were murdered; 86 percent of the victims were male. In 2008, 656,000 people in the same age group were treated for injuries sustained from violence.
Furthermore, 31.4 percent of students surveyed reported being in a physical altercation within the 12 months preceding the survey. Other statistics show that one in three high school students are involved in some sort of fighting.
In a 2010 study conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, researchers found that perceptions of support from families, schools, and communities helped lower the risk of teen violence.
