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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The household of an 8th grader killed in a drive-by shooting is pleading for an finish to the violence. It occurred in Philadelphia’s Summerdale neighborhood Friday afternoon.
“He didn’t deserve this at all,” Robert Yocum Jr. mentioned.
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Yocum Jr. was presupposed to attend his son’s eighth grade commencement on Friday. Instead, it might be a day ceaselessly marked by tragedy.
“I heard the gunshots and I opened the door and he came running in,” Yocum Jr. mentioned.
His son, 14-year-old Bobby III, was shot within the chest whereas sitting on the entrance porch of his residence on the 800 block of Bridge Street.
“I was trying to tell him just relax and he was holding my hand and he was telling me, ‘Please dad, don’t let me die, don’t let me die,’” Yocum Jr. mentioned.
Bobby was rushed to Einstein Hospital, the place he died. His father blames the weapons for turning playground phrases right into a lethal hit.
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“The violence is never going to end, it’s going to constantly happen until all these guns get off the streets,” Yocum Jr. mentioned.
Philadelphia police say the shooter opened fireplace from a blue sedan, probably a Chevy, hitting Bobby together with one other 15-year-old woman. Friends and household held a vigil Saturday night time in his honor as officers looked for a suspect and motive.
“We just need the public’s help to understand, this can’t be normalized, No. 1 and that you should not tolerate this,” Philadelphia police captain John Walker mentioned.
Bobby is one among greater than 1,000 individuals shot in Philly this 12 months, together with 222 fatally.
“I love him, I wish he was home,” Yocum Jr. mentioned.
For a listing of gun violence sources in Philadelphia, click here.
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