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Boy, 14, shot in head, dies in hospital

A 14-year-old boy died Tuesday evening after being shot in the head the night before in North Philadelphia, police said.

A 14-year-old boy died Tuesday evening after being shot in the head the night before in North Philadelphia, police said.

The boy, whose identity was not released, was pronounced dead at 5 p.m. Police said they had made no arrest or established any motive for the shooting, which happened around 8:40 p.m. Monday near a Philadelphia Housing Authority police station on the 1200 block of North 10th Street.

When the boy was being taken to Hahnemann University Hospital, what appears to have been a BB gun fell out of his clothing, police said. The teen lived in the neighborhood.

Karen Waller, 53, said her daughter heard kids yelling Monday night that a boy was shot. She did not realize what happened until Tuesday. Waller said she heard loud noises but did not know they were gunshots.

"I heard it," said Waller, who said she has lived on the block for more than 10 years. "But around here, they sound like firecrackers. So I don't pay any mind to it anymore."

Phillip Bell, 55, said crime on the block was far worse five years ago, when he moved to 10th Street. "They were shooting a lot," he said of teenagers in the area. He said he did not hear Monday's gunshots.

Waller said she rarely sees patrols on the block despite the nearby police station.

Police reported no eyewitnesses, but were reviewing potential surveillance video. There did not appear to be cameras outside the small PHA station.

mgelb@philly.com

215-854-2928 @MattGelb