Noah Scurry, 17-Year-Old Philly Basketball Star With His HS’s Top SAT Score, Fatally Shot On Way To School

Philadelphia high school basketball star Noah Scurry was fatally shot Tuesday morning while on his way to school with his mother.

A Philadelphia police spokesperson told CBS News that Scurry was shot near the 5000 block of Rorer Street, close to Tacony Creek Park and Roosevelt Boulevard, at approximately 7:15 a.m. Officers arrived to find Scurry had suffered multiple gunshot wounds across his body. NBC Philadelphia , citing a law enforcement source, reported the 17-year-old was shot “dozens” of times.

Medics and the Philadelphia Fire Department transported Scurry to Jefferson Einstein Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:37 a.m., according to People.

While police initially stated that a weapon was recovered, they later confirmed no weapon was found at the scene. Authorities did recover a white Jeep Grand Cherokee that matched the description of a vehicle seen on surveillance footage near the crime scene. An investigation is ongoing.

Remembering Noah Scurry

The news of Scurry’s death has left his high school community in mourning. The team’s games were been canceled for the week.

“Ours is a tight-knit community, and I know that this is difficult news to receive even when it doesn’t occur on school property,” Samuel Fels High School principal Melissa Rasper wrote in a letter to families Tuesday. “Death is rarely something that is easy to accept, especially when it involves a young person, a classmate, and particularly during these times as our city grapples with heightened gun violence.”

Scurry, who achieved the school’s highest SAT scores, was a standout both academically and athletically and he was being scouted by colleges.

Rap Video Released Before His Death

As Fox 29 reported, law enforcement sources told then news station that “there was a rap video posted the day before Scurry was killed, that sources believe shows Scurry, in a ‘joker’ mask, appearing to hold guns. The video shows other individuals dancing alongside him, also holding and showing off guns.”

A spokesperson for the school district, Monique Braxton, told Fox 29, “This teenager that was killed was exceptional. As far as the school was concerned, there had not been any issues between this person who was killed and any other student. They don’t know of anything going on in the community as well.”

Mohamed Elfaki, a 10th-grade student at Samuel Fels High School, described the emotional toll the incident has had on students.

“The basketball boys weren’t in the lunchroom. The whole school seemed upset. I saw people crying. It was just traumatic,” Elfaki told CBS News. “He was really smart. Whenever he entered a room, the room always lit. There was always a smile on somebody’s face when you were around him. Just so sad to think that he died.”

To support students during this difficult time, the school has provided mental health professionals and counselors. A GoFundMe has been created to support his family with funeral costs.

Calls for Action on Gun Violence

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Arthur Steinberg issued a statement addressing Scurry’s death, saying, “We are devastated that senseless gun violence has claimed the life of another Philadelphia public school student. Every child deserves the freedom to learn, mature, and thrive without the threat of violence.”

Steinberg acknowledged the progress made in reducing homicides in the city but emphasized, “While the historic decline in homicides in Philadelphia is a tremendous achievement, every preventable act of violence is unacceptable,” as reported by People.