Two men are in custody in connection with the weekend shooting death of a 2-year-old girl who died in her mother’s arms in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, police say, according to CBS Philly.
The toddler was killed on Sunday when a man stood outside the home firing an AK-47 into it, police said. A single bullet struck her in the back of the head, and she was pronounced dead on the scene. Her 24-year-old mother was hit in the side of the head and the back, and a 33-year-old contractor at the home to clean the carpets was shot in the stomach.
Philadelphia police said they arrested Freddie Perez, 30, in Chester Tuesday night, charging him with murder and nine counts of attempted murder. On Wednesday, police arrested a second man on an unrelated charge and are questioning him about the shooting. He has not yet been named.
The girl’s mother is listed in stable condition at Temple University Hospital, and and the contractor is in critical but stable condition. Both are expected to survive, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Police said they believe two people were involved in the shooting and that they were targeting the little girl’s father, who was not at home. Acting Police Commissioner Christine Coulter said detectives believe the shooting was drug-related, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Surveillance footage and tips from public led investigators to a vehicle connected to Perez, police said. 6ABC reported that Perez was arrested at his home in Chester and that police took bags of evidence from the home. Police have not said if they believe Perez was the shooter.
The shooting was the second of a young child in less than 24 hours in Philadelphia. On Saturday night, an 11-month old baby boy was shot four times while riding in the back seat of a car, as CrimeOnline reported. He was later identified as Yaseem Jenkins, who is in very critical condition in the hospital. He was shot in the back of the head, the chest, and the buttocks by an unknown assailant who apparently fired at the back of the car.
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[Featured image: Nikolette Rivera/WCAU]