PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A 30-year-old Philadelphia man was charged Wednesday with shooting four teenagers who had a beef with his stepsons, killing three of them, authorities said.
A federal marshal said Axel Barreto was tracked to a Knights Inn in Bensalem, a Bucks County suburb, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He was arrested Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after the shootings.
Investigators said what became a triple homicide started as a school and Facebook feud between a group of teenagers and Barreto's three stepsons. Seven teens drove to the Juniata Park neighborhood Tuesday night planning a physical fight, and Barreto allegedly came out of his house and fired 10 to 12 shots into their car.
Joshua Soto, 14, and Javier Orlandi, 16, died almost immediately. Two boys were taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Dante Lugo, 14, died late Wednesday. The 16-year-old who drove the group was in stable condition with a wound in the neck.
Philadelphia Homicide Capt. James Clark said the teens apparently did not bring any weapons with them. He said Barreto fired wildly into the car, and there easily could have been more deaths.
With 324 homicides in 2011 -- 20.7 for every 100,000 residents -- Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate in the nation among the 10 largest cities, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported Wednesday. The number of killings has dropped since hitting 392 in 2007.
