By Vinny Vella
Philadelphia Daily News
PHILADELPHIA — A city corrections officer is facing charges in a shooting that wounded a 16-year-old boy, a police source said today.
The suspect, 38, will be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment in connection with the shooting, which took place Sunday night outside Carpenter Park, on Morton Street near Duval in East Germantown, police said. His name hasn’t been released, pending his formal arraignment.
Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the teen collapsed outside his home on Duval Street near Baynton about 8:19 p.m., police said. The boy had been shot in his neck, and medics took him to Einstein Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.
Witnesses told investigators that the suspect and another man were arguing inside the park, and that the spat quickly came to blows.
The other man punched the suspect in the face, prompting him to pull out a black handgun and start shooting.
His intended target ran and was not injured, but the teen, whom police believe to be an innocent bystander, was hit in the crossfire.
After the shooting, the suspect drove himself to the 35th District and surrendered, police said.