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Two men charged in death of Philadelphia teen shot 18 times while waiting for bus

Kyair Garnett, 21, and Qadir Johnson, 20, were charged with murder and other offenses related to the death of Samir Jefferson.
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Two men were arrested on murder charges in the death of a 14-year-old Philadelphia boy who was shot 18 times while he was waiting for a bus.

Authorities are searching for three other people, police spokesman Eric McLaurin said Thursday.

Samir Jefferson.
Samir Jefferson.Family photo

The district attorney’s office identified the two men who were arrested as Kyair Garnett, 21, and Qadir Johnson, 20. They were charged with murder, conspiracy, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and other offenses.

Garnett was also charged with receipt of stolen property and unauthorized use of an automobile. The district attorney's office said Garnett had an outstanding bench warrant in Montgomery County when he was arrested in Philadelphia.

The district attorney's office did not give further details.

Police did not name the three people they are still searching for or say how they are believed to be connected to the shooting of Samir Jefferson on Monday.

Samir was in a North Philadelphia neighborhood just before 3:30 p.m. waiting for a bus to take him home from school when two people fired at least 36 shots, police said in an incident report.

He was shot 18 times throughout his body, authorities said. He died at a hospital.

The police incident report did not list a motive for the shooting, which happened outside a crowded pharmacy and was partly recorded on security video. A number of people in the area also witnessed the incident, officials said.

The district attorney's office said that the shooting was "senseless" and that it was "heartbroken."

Samir's family demanded answers.

"What did you gain except for becoming a murderer, except for taking somebody else’s child?” a family member said to NBC Philadelphia.

Samir's sister, who asked not to be named, said the death is hard for the family.

"It’s really not going to be the same without my little brother, because he really brung joy to our family," she said.