6-year-old boy wounded in North Philly by a stray bullet

A 6-year-old boy was hospitalized in stable condition after being struck by a stray bullet Friday night in North Philadelphia, police said.

Shortly before 7:50 p.m., the boy was standing with his father and 15-year-old brother outside the family home on Norris Street near 24th Street when he was wounded in the left shoulder, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

The boy ran into his house and was treated by family members until police arrived. Police rushed the boy to Temple University Hospital, where he was initially placed in critical condition because he lost a lot of blood, Small said. He was upgraded to stable and was transferred to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where he was scheduled to undergo surgery, police said Saturday.

Small said the gunfire came from the 2000 block of 24th Street, where police were investigating an unattended parked vehicle.

The shooting scene is across the street from a playground.

Thelma Douglas, a neighbor and bus driver for the Philadelphia School District, said she had just arrived home from work when she found her block swarming with police.

"I just pray that everything goes well for that young man, that young baby," she said.

Douglas said the playground was popular with the neighborhood children, including the victim.

"That's where he goes to play every day," she said.