A 10-year-old child was shot in the head on his way to school, killed in the cross fire of battling drug gangs.

In July, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the chest as he rode his bike in Grays Ferry, killed by bullets in a turf war between residents of neighboring streets.

Then, in September, a 13-year-old was gunned down outside a Chinese restaurant in a fight over a broken windshield.

In truth, fewer children have been killed in Philadelphia this year than last - and far fewer than a decade ago.

Yet some of the killings have been so brazen, so public - including some outside schools - that people are outraged.

"How many funerals, how many marches, how many hospital visits does it take before people say it's time to take action?" asks Shelly Yanoff, executive director of Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth.

Twenty-seven children have been slain in Philadelphia so far this year.

According to an Inquirer analysis of police homicide data, a lethal mixture of guns and arguments played a major role.

Until last year, the statistics had been encouraging. Homicides of those under 18 had dropped precipitously between 1994 and the end of 2002 - from 50 a year to 21. But the deaths spiked in 2003 - up to 30. And this year is not far behind.

So there is fresh fear that the numbers are creeping up again.

Just last month, Jalil Speaks, 16, was shot to death a block from Strawberry Mansion High School, killed in a volley of gunfire, police say, because he owed someone $50. Three other students were injured in the shootout, which took place in broad daylight shortly after school let out.

The first of many candlelight vigils and marches was held in April, when thousands gathered to mourn 10-year-old Faheem Thomas-Childs, who was killed outside T.M. Peirce Elementary School in February.

The momentum - like the killings - has continued.

On Wednesday community leaders designated December a "month of peace" and called on churches and civic groups to work to ensure that the final weeks of the year pass uninterrupted by tragedy.

Tomorrow the Police Department will announce a new collaboration with the Philadelphia School District to gather more information on potential violence.

And next weekend, antiviolence groups and the city will host a summit on gang violence.

"They're just sick and tired, the community, of all these tragedies," said John C. Appledorn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission of Delaware Valley.

An Inquirer analysis of police homicide data over the last five years found that more than half of the victims under 18 were killed by guns. From January 2000 until last Friday, 129 children were slain, 69 of them by guns.

Among other findings: