An image from surveillance footage shows an armed suspect exiting a stolen vehicle parked near a Philadelphia bus stop moments before eight high-schoolers were shot and injured on Wednesday. Two 18-year-old men have been arrested in connection with the violence, police announced. Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Police Department
March 11 (UPI) -- Two 18-year-olds have been arrested in connection with last week's mass shooting at a Philadelphia bus stop that left eight other teens injured, police and city officials announced Monday.
The suspects, identified as Jamaal Tucker and Ahnile Buggs, were named as two of four suspects sought in the wake of Wednesday's incident, in which masked assailants fired about 30 rounds at a group of high school students near a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus station in northeastern Philadelphia.
A total of three gunmen opened fire at the group and then fled in a stolen vehicle driven by a fourth person, investigators said. All of the injured victims are students at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.
The city's police leadership and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told reporters Tucker surrendered to authorities on Friday after being linked to a dark blue Hyundai Sonata that was used in the shooting. The car was recovered in the hours following the 3 p.m. Wednesday attack.
Authorities said Buggs was arrested Saturday after a search of several locations by U.S. Marshals and was found with a 40-caliber Glock 22 handgun that had been converted into an automatic weapon using a "switch."
The two other suspects remain at large, police said.
Wednesday's shooting was the fourth involving SEPTA buses in the space of a week, during which a total of 11 juveniles were shot.
"We are not done until any group involved in this kind of conduct is done, until they do not exist anymore," Krasner said. "And that is exactly where this investigation needs to go. It's not about a single incident. It's about every other incident that has any connection to it."
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said investigators remain unsure if there are any connections between the incidents.
"We are not ready to commit to that," he told reporters. "We are working through this investigation now. We believe there may be (a connection), but we still have a lot of work to do."
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker on Monday renewed her commitment to not letting gunmen "hold the city hostage" three months after declaring a public safety emergency due to ongoing violence in the city.
Juniors and seniors at Northeast High School returned to in-person classes Monday for the first time since the shooting after switching to online classes last week, while freshmen and sophomores were set to return on Tuesday.
SEPTA Police have increased physical police patrols of the bus routes in the vicinity of the school and have also stepped up the monitoring the cameras of those buses remotely, school officials said.
The Philadelphia School District is "committed to working together with the mayor's office, city council, the business community, and other Philadelphians who share the urgent need to reduce gun violence in our city," Northeast High School Principal Omar Crowder said in a statement.
