PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The family of 16-year-old Londyn Major is grieving after the North Philadelphia teen was shot and killed earlier this week in an apparent accidental shooting.
Loved ones are calling for an end to the gun violence that has now claimed two of the family’s children.
Major, described by relatives as an honor roll student who dreamed of becoming a nurse, was killed Tuesday evening inside a home on the 2400 block of North Colorado Street. Police said she was found in a second-floor bedroom with a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Major did not live at the residence, according to police.
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“It’s been very unreal. We can’t even process what happened,” said her uncle, Terrill Cerney. “People started calling and saying it was her, and I just dropped the phone. We’re losing kids too young. Sixteen, she didn’t even have time to really live her life.”
Authorities said 18-year-old Anas Bey, of Greenbelt, Maryland, was arrested the following day and charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and related offenses.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting, including Bey’s alleged involvement in the incident, have not been released by police.
Cerney said the family is struggling to understand how a gun ended up in the home where children were present.
“We’re trying to grapple with the intent – if there was intent or not. You know, why was there a weapon in the home with kids there?” he said.
Major was an 11th-grade student at Tech Freire Charter High School, where she was preparing for the SATs and looking at college options. Her family said she loved to travel, cook, paint, and spend time with loved ones.
“At the time, we’re looking at SATs and all of that, so we just got mail yesterday that we opened that looked at school choices,” Cerney said.
Teen girl dies after shooting inside North Philadelphia home
This tragedy marks the second time Major’s mother has lost a child to gun violence. Major’s brother, Nafis, was also shot and killed in North Philadelphia in 2023. He was 16 years old.
“Here we are again, two years later,” Cerney said. “So this feels like a very tragedy that happened in our community, but we want to send a message that gun violence and young people playing with guns – it should not happen.”
“She was a very sweet, sweet, loving girl, and so I just want her to be remembered for the person that she was,” Cerney added.
The family said they plan to create a foundation in Major’s honor to help combat gun violence in their community.
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