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Inset: Ethan Parker (Facebook/Zakia Brice). Background: The residence where Ethan Parker was reportedly shot and killed while making a music video (WCAU/YouTube).
In Philadelphia, a 12-year-old boy was tragically shot and killed while participating in the filming of a music video with guns alongside a group of older teenagers, police reported.
The music video footage is considered “one of the critical pieces of evidence that [authorities] currently have,” stated Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace. He shared this information with Fox affiliate WTXF and additional local media during a press conference on Sunday regarding the alleged murder of Ethan Parker. The incident occurred at a house in the 1500 block of East Pastorius Street on Saturday at approximately 12:30 p.m., according to police.
Pace said Parker was shot once with a handgun and rushed by responding officers to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
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“Based on what we know so far … it appears that the decedent, the 12-year-old, was with two additional teenagers, ages 15 and 17, when they may have been in the process of producing some sort of a music video,” Pace told reporters.
“There were some guns present, and one of them went off, shooting the 12-year-old, ultimately killing him,” the inspector said.
Police officials announced charges Sunday of third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other offenses for the 17-year-old related to Parker’s death.
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The incident left neighbors shaken, with one woman telling WTXF: “In the middle of the day, shooting a video and playing with guns, it should not happen. That is very shocking. I’m at a loss for words now.”
Before announcing the charges for the teen, Pace told reporters that they were viewing the music video they filmed as evidence.
“However, there needs to be — legally — warrants secured with respect to accessing that information,” he said. “We do believe that those phones or any other recording equipment may provide some very, very valuable information that will help us understand what exactly occurred.”
Pace detailed how the shooting allegedly went down at the home of a teen whose parents were present, saying additional charges could possibly come down for the adults.
“Obviously there were live guns there, the crime scene also consists of some other weapons — some BB guns, some fake guns — so how that live gun got there, who it belongs to, that is still all under investigation,” Pace told reporters. “And there may be additional charges pending, depending on what we determine with respect to the ownership of that weapon.”
