Philadelphia police are facing questions after releasing mixed reports of an armed 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot in the back by officers on Tuesday, with a police commissioner claiming he was armed and shooting at police, but her deputy later said he was “not sure if he did.
Police identified the boy as Thomas Siderio Jr., saying officers took him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead minutes after the shooting. Police said Siderio was white.
One of the four police officers in the car was hit by broken glass in the face and eye, treated and released, police said.
Video from Ring’s camera footage from a door near the shooting captures what Sounds like an officer exclaims, “I’m bleeding,” right after the shot.
In a statement Wednesday, police said the four plainclothes officers were in an unmarked car in South Philadelphia around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday as part of a task force responding to social media posts including a gun.
Officials said they saw two young men on the corner – one of whom appeared to be carrying a gun – and identified the older man as wanted for questioning in a firearms investigation.
Thomas Siderio Jr., 12, was fatally shot in the back by police in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, with police sending mixed reports about whether he was armed or shot.
Police are inspecting the scene of the shooting Tuesday night. An unidentified teenager was fatally shot by police and a police officer was injured by broken glass during a clash in South Philadelphia, police said.
Officers activated the car’s emergency red and blue lights and then heard a shot and the rear window windshield shattered, police said.
Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Nish said the bullet went through the window, ricocheted off the passenger’s door and passed through the passenger’s headrest, saying police officers could very easily have been killed or seriously injured. He spoke during a virtual update on gun violence in the city on Wednesday.
Police said two police officers stepped out of the driver’s side and shot at the fleeing young man, who officials said was holding a gun.
One of the officers continued to chase Siderio down the street, firing twice more and hitting the boy once in the upper right back. The bullet came out through his chest, police said.
The other young man, a 17-year-old man, whose name was not released, was detained in the firearms case but was later released, police said.
Police Commissioner Daniel Autlo initially said Siderio was definitely armed and shot at cops in a written statement after the shooting.
However, Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Naish said police could not say on Wednesday that Siderio had shot at the police vehicle or whether he aimed the weapon at police while fleeing.
The question was whether Siderio or the other boy were armed and whether they shot at the police.
Nash said police found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol equipped with a laser that was reported stolen.
He said the pistol had one bullet in the chamber and five more in the clip.
However, Nish said police could not say on Wednesday that Siderio had shot at the police vehicle or whether he aimed his weapon at police while fleeing.
“I can’t be sure about everything at the moment, but I can be sure that a shot was fired at the police vehicle and a gun was found,” Nish said.
Thomas Siderio Jr. attended Sharswood School in Philadelphia
Police Commissioner Daniel Outlow painted a different picture in a written statement after the shooting.
“A young child with a gun in his hand deliberately fires a weapon at our employees,” she said.
Either way, Outlaw added that it was a heartbreaking incident.
“However, a young man’s life was tragically cut short and we all have to wonder how we as a society have failed him and so many other young people like him,” she said.
Police also did not say whether the gun found was part of the initial investigation.
Officers are investigating the scene in South Philadelphia after the shootings
A pair of bicycles found at the scene appear to have been cut off by a yellow police tape.
“Although the forensic doctor’s indications are that the bullet hit him in the back, this does not mean that he was fleeing or that a gun was not aimed at or near the police officer. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t continued to be a threat to police. “
He said ballistic evidence had been gathered and police were searching the area for surveillance footage as part of the investigation.
None of the plainclothes officers wore a body camera, he said.
The two police officers who fired their weapons were released on administrative leave pending investigation.
Siderio Jr. is reported to have had a difficult and short life. A police report from April 2020 said that then the 11-year-old boy named Thomas Siderio Jr. was declared missing by a guardian.
“Philadelphia’s school district is heartbroken by the tragic shooting of one of our students. Our thoughts and prayers are with family members, friends and the school community who mourn this loss, “said a spokesman for the area where Siderio Jr. attended school in Sharswood. “We have provided counseling and support services for those who may need help coping or who want to talk about what has happened.”