Philadelphia police officer fatally shoots 12-year-old after bullet is fired into unmarked car

A 12-year-old was fatally shot in the back by police officers in Philadelphia, who unleashed gunfire after a bullet ripped through their unmarked car.

The deadly incident unfolded on Tuesday as police responded to social media posts involving a stolen gun. A group of four officers, who were surveilling a south Philadelphia neighborhood, spotted a couple of young males just before 7:30 p.m., one of whom appeared to be carrying a firearm.

Authorities said they also recognized the older of the two as someone wanted for questioning in connection with the firearms probe.

Officers turned on the emergency lights of their unmarked vehicle and started to approach the pair — that’s when they heard gunfire, immediately followed by the sound of glass shattering. According to authorities, the bullet went through the rear passenger window’s glass, struck the inner doorframe, and then pierced the passenger’s headrest before stopping in the vehicle’s headliner.

Two officers then exited the vehicle and fired twice, fatally striking one of the suspects in the back. The Philadelphia Police Department identified the victim on Wednesday as Thomas Siderio Jr.

He was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a few minutes after the shooting.

One of the four officers was also injured. They were struck by shattered glass in both the face and eye, but have since been released from the hospital.

Philadelphia police said they recovered from the scene a 9MM equipped with a laser, which had previously been reported as stolen. Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Naish on Wednesday said authorities could not definitively say whether Siderio shot into the police vehicle, nor whether he had pointed the weapon at officers as he fled.

“While the indications from the medical examiner is that the bullet entered into his back, that does not mean he was fleeing or that there was not a gun being pointed toward or in the vicinity of the officer,” Naish said.

“It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t continuing to be a threat to the officer.”

A 17-year-old male who was not named was taken into custody in connection with the firearms case but was later released, police said.