A 17-year-old was shot in the stomach after teens accessed an adult’s gun, police said.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Philadelphia police were investigating Wednesday after a 17-year-old boy was shot in the stomach inside a South Philadelphia home and taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The shooting was reported shortly after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on the 2600 block of South 9th Street. Officers responding to the home found the injured teenager in an upstairs bedroom, according to police.
Police said the victim was visiting a 16-year-old resident when the two teens got access to a firearm owned by an adult who lives in the house. The gun discharged, striking the 17-year-old in the stomach. He was rushed to Jefferson Hospital, where police said he was expected to survive.
Chief Inspector Scott Small said detectives were treating the case as an accidental shooting, though key details were still unresolved. Small said police did not yet know whether the victim shot himself by accident or whether another person inside the home accidentally fired the weapon.
Investigators said cooperation from people inside the house was limited. Small said police were not getting full cooperation from other teenagers or adults in the property, and officers were keeping people there while detectives continued interviews.
The shooting raised immediate questions about how the teenagers reached the gun and who had control of it when it fired. Police had not announced any arrests or charges in the hours after the shooting.
The investigation remained active as detectives worked to sort through witness accounts, the firearm’s ownership and the events inside the upstairs bedroom.
Author note: Last updated Thursday, May 28, 2026.