The shooting happened just before 9 p.m. at Academy Park High School on the 300 block of Calcon Hook Road in Sharon Hill, Pa.
A game between Academy Park and Pennsbury High School had just ended when the gunfire erupted near the concession stand. Some 100 to 200 people were leaving the game as the shots rang out.
RELATED: Grieving family speaks out after 7-year-old killed at high school football game in Sharon Hill, Pa.
Fanta Bility, 8, died at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Lansdowne, Delaware County, from a gunshot wound to the chest. The shooting also injured the girl’s 13-year-old sister and a teenage boy. No details were immediately available about those victims.
Related Post
“Even this morning I was looking at pictures of Fanta and thinking of her,” said the child’s uncle, Mohamed Bility. “We miss her, we miss her, we miss her, we miss her.”
A K-9 unit, officers with metal detectors, and federal agents blanketed the immediate area in a search for some object or evidence that remained undisclosed.
Those that live near the school were heartbroken by the loss of life.
“This doesn’t happen here, this really is a quiet neighborhood,” said resident Steve Overholt.
Others from the area are now trying to organize a vigil in Fanta’s memory as the family prepares to lay her to rest.
“Everybody from this community, Philadelphia, wherever you are at, come and show this little girl some respect and love and bring a teddy bear, bring a balloon, bring a prayer, pray for her family,” said one parent in the area named Jackie.
In a statement, the DA did express his sympathies for the loss of the life and is asking for anyone with information to come forward.
“On Friday night, a terrible tragedy occurred – the senseless death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility. Our thoughts and prayers remain with her family and friends at this most difficult time,” said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer in a statement released Monday.
Stollsteimer said the ongoing investigation includes an investigation into the police discharge of weapons following initial shots fired by civilians in the area surrounding the football stadium.
Action News has learned that three Sharon Hill police officers fired their weapons during the incident. Authorities have not said if the officers shot anyone.
On Monday night, a steady stream of relatives and friends came by the family’s home to pay their respects.
Anti-violence activists from Philadelphia gathered at a makeshift memorial outside the football stadium.
“The children are dying, these are babies killing babies. When is it gonna stop?” said activist Khalif Mujahid-Ali.
Family says that funeral services for Fanta will be held Tuesday afternoon in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia.
Anyone with information about the shooting or the investigation is asked to call 610-891-8030.
Copyright © 2021 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
