8 shot near Philadelphia subway station

Eight people were injured Wednesday afternoon in a shooting near a Philadelphia subway station. 

The gunfire began at approximately 2:50 p.m. near the SEPTA Olney Transportation Center, police confirmed, according to multiple reports.

Witnesses said people in the area quickly scattered during the chaotic scene in the city’s Fern Rock section.

The eight victims ranged in age from 17 to 71. A 17-year-old girl was shot in the right arm, a 21-year-old man was hit in the right leg, a 22-year-old man was shot in the back, a 36-year-old woman was shot in the right thigh, a 48-year-old man was grazed in the stomach, a 53-year-old man was hit in the right leg, a 70-year-old man was shot in the thigh and a 71-year-old man was shot once in the stomach and multiple times in both legs, according to local news outlets. 

The 71-year-old man was listed in critical condition by officials on Wednesday. The other victims were all stable.

One suspect was reportedly arrested and two firearms were recovered by officials. Police have not released the identity of the suspect.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) called the shooting “yet another tragic example of the vicious, outrageous, and unacceptable gun violence epidemic that’s threatening the lives and safety of our fellow Philadelphians.”

“I am beyond sickened. I refuse to accept this emergency situation as normal. We must rise together with one clear and united moral voice against the evil act of violence. People have the right to travel between work and home, and around town, without the fear of being shot, and possibly killed, by reckless, indiscriminate gunfire,” Kenney said in a statement

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that officials were still working to determine whether there were multiple shooters.

“It’s very brazen,” Outlaw said, ABC News reported. “We were able to get someone in custody as quickly as we did because we had officers out working on another assignment. It’s not for our lack of presence out here, but I think it’s very telling that folks willing to engage in these shootings are becoming more and more emboldened whether we’re here or not.”  

The Hill has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department for additional information.