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CNN
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A 14-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of a woman at the Philadelphia playground where she worked, city officials confirm.
The teenager was charged with murder and other offenses related to Friday’s shooting of Parks and Recreation employee Tiffany Fletcher at the Mill Creek Recreation Center in West Philadelphia, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
Fletcher, 40, was “caught in the crossfire” of a shootout with the 14-year-old and at least one other person, police said.
District Attorney Larry Krasner confirmed the teenager will be charged as an adult, but officials did not release his name during a press conference Monday.
CNN has contacted the Defender Association of Philadelphia to determine if they represent the teenager.
Outlaw said officers heard multiple gunshots Friday around 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. in the area of the recreation center and saw people running from the playground when they responded to the scene.
After she was shot, Fletcher ran to an area business where workers were trying to tend to her wounds. Officers transported Fletcher to a nearby hospital, but she died later that evening, Outlaw said.
The 14-year-old boy was arrested after a short chase, and a 9 mm “ghost gun” was found in a nearby trash can, Outlaw said.
Authorities also found 12 spent shell casings at the scene. It is still unknown what led to the shootings and authorities are still looking for other suspects involved.
Fletcher agreed this spring to work as a pool maintenance assistant when the city, like many others, faced a staffing shortage at its pools, and agreed to stay at Mill Creek Recreation Center after the pool season ended, according to Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell, who called Fletcher “a beloved member of the staff.”
“Tiffany answered the call every day to serve the children and families in her community and to make her three children and her family proud,” said Ott Lovell.
The leisure center had just opened at 1pm that day. According to Ott Lovell, four other employees were present at the center when the shooting took place.
“Words alone cannot express the outrage, hurt and sadness that we all feel. Dedicated, passionate and driven – Tiffany Fletcher was just doing her job outside the Mill Creek Rec Center in West Philadelphia when – in a brazen and unconscionable act of violence – was hit by crossfire in the middle of the day,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. .
Jean Washington, Fletcher’s niece, called her aunt a “wonderful mother … aunt, sister, daughter.”
“I want justice for her children. They deserve their mother. For peace, we need justice,” Washington said.
Philadelphia has seen an increase in gun violence, DA Krasner said. Last week, the city registered 11 murders from 3.-9. September, he said.
In addition, there have been 384 recorded homicides this year in the city as of Sunday, marking a 4% increase over the same period last year, Krasner said.
“It is extremely important that we understand that we are dealing with an inexcusable, deeply disheartening, horrific level of gun violence in the city of Philadelphia that is increasingly affecting children,” Krasner said.
The city’s mayor also commented on the increase in violence, calling the recent number of incidents “outrageous” and “simply unacceptable.”
“It’s just unimaginable to think how many lives were affected by gun violence, and my deepest sympathies go out to the loved ones of everyone affected,” Kenney said.
Kenney said the ongoing violence near recreation centers and schools is one of the reasons the city is now offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of someone who fires a weapon within 500 feet of a school, a leisure center or a library.
“Our playgrounds, our parks, our recreation centers need to be safe and sacred places in our community,” Ott Lovell said.
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