12-year-old boy fatally shot after answering knock at his Philadelphia front door

The child, identified as Sadeek Clark-Harrison, was pronounced dead at the scene

Sadeek Clark-Harrison, 12, was shot and killed when a bullet went through his front door in Philadelphia (WPVI)

A 12-year-old boy was fatally shot after he heard a knock and went to answer the front door in his Philadelphia home, authorities said.

The boy, identified as Sadeek Clark-Harrison by CBS Philly, was shot in the face and killed shortly before 3am on Sunday morning.

A knock was heard at the front door of the Frankford home before a bullet was shot through the crescent moon glass of the door.

“What we know at this time is that there was a knock at the door. No descriptions of any persons at the door, one shot was fired,” Deputy Commissioner Melvin Singleton said, according to the police report. “We do have on the porch of the location one 9mm shell casing and that’s all we know at this particular point in time.”

The bullet hit the child in the face and he was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him, the report added.

“They took my baby away from me. He was a good boy and he helped everybody around here,” His mother, Lisa Clark, told CBS Philly.

She said a grown man’s voice was heard calling out to her son prior to the shooting.

“‘Sadeek! Sadeek!’ So he was coming outside to answer the door because they were calling his name and he didn’t even open the door. He looked at the top of the door and they shot him through his eye,” Ms Clark said.

Sadeek was the youngest of Ms Clark’s four sons.

Police have yet to identify the shooter, who fled the scene following the incident. Authorities are calling on the public to help with the investigation.

“I hope that in situations like this, that the community feels a sense of urgency to provide us with some information to apprehend or give some investigative help. So if anyone has any information please come forward,” Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Melvin Singleton told the outlet.