At least 13 shot with ‘3 dead’ along ‘popular weekend strip’ in Philadelphia

The mayor of Philadelphia blasted the ‘horrendous, brazen and despicable act of gun violence’ plaguing the nation after an overnight mass shooting left three dead and at least 11 injured in his city.

Mayor Jim Kenney issued a statement Sunday morning calling for officials to ‘address the availability and ease of access to firearms’ in the U.S. as a manhunt was underway for the gunmen involved in Saturday’s shooting. 

Police said at least 14 people were struck when multiple shooters opened fire into a large crowd of revelers on the city’s popular South Street just before midnight. Two men, one aged 22, and a 25-year-old woman were killed in the barrage of gunfire. 

One of the shooters was last seen fleeing the scene after a cop shot the suspect three times, prompting the individual to flee. It is unclear if the gunman was struck.

Another suspected gunman is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital after being shot in the forearm, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Police said there were ‘several active shooters’ but have not said exactly how many suspects they are pursuing.

No arrests have been made but that two weapons were recovered at the scene. One of the guns had an extended magazine, Police Inspector D. F. Pace confirmed.

Prior to this shooting, were nine separate shootings in the city between Friday night and Saturday. No arrests have been made in any of those incidents.

Saturday’s attack is the latest in a string of vicious shootings that have ripped across the US in recent weeks, including one at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma and at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Mayor Kenney described Saturday’s shooting as ‘horrendous, despicable and senseless’ and argued Americans ‘cannot accept continued violence as a way of life in our country.’

‘The events that transpired last evening on South Street are beyond devastating,’ he said in a statement. ‘I know this shooting has shaken many people in our community.’

‘Our city—and country—have experienced a steep rise in gun violence over the past few years. We’ve spent these years grappling with this rising epidemic and doing everything in our power not only to stop it but to try to understand why the violence continues—it’s senseless, needless, and deeply troubling.’

‘We cannot accept continued violence as a way of life in our country,’ he added. 

Kenney, like many of his fellow Democrats, called for stricter gun laws and stronger measures to curb gun violence.

‘Until we address the availability and ease of access to firearms, we will always be fighting an uphill battle. As Mayor, I will continue to fight to protect our communities and urge others to advocate for stronger laws that keep guns out of the hands of violent individuals,’ the mayor said.

‘The surge in gun violence that we’ve seen across the nation—and here in Philadelphia—makes me not just heartbroken, but angry. Our administration, in partnership with all of our local and federal law enforcement agencies, continues to work relentlessly to reduce violence and create safer communities.’

Kenney’s remarks came just hours after Philadelphia police heard a flurry of gunshots ring out in the 200 block of South Street, between 2nd and 3rd streets.

When they got to the scene, shortly before midnight, officers saw multiple shooters firing into a large crowd.

An officer fired his gun at one of the shooters, Pace said during a news conference, however it is unclear if the suspect was hit.

‘He was within 10 to 15 yards of the shooter, watching this person shoot into the crowd when the officer engaged with that shooter,’ Pace told reporters. ‘As a result of that brave officer, that individual – again, we’re uncertain whether he was struck or not – but the officer was able to get that individual to drop his gun and flee.’ 

Seven victims were taken to nearby Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with injuries from the shooting, a hospital spokesperson told The Inquirer. One was reported dead on arrival and four others were in stable condition.

Five people were taken to Pennsylvania Hospital, including one of the suspect. The accused gunman had been shot in the arm.

Three other victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Their conditions are unknown.

Not all of those who were injured were shot. One of those people being treated in a local hospital is considered a suspect in the shooting. 

There could be additional victims not yet accounted for, such as those who were privately taken to the hospital. 

As of 8am Sunday morning, the area of 3rd and South Streets was still blocked off as officers conducted their investigation. Police are asking business owners to review video from surveillance cameras.

In a tweet, Inquirer reporter Max Marin called the area ‘a popular weekend strip.’ Marin later tweeted evidence of ‘pandemonium stretching several blocks’, pointing to broken car windows and knocked over trash cans.  

‘There were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street, as they do every weekend, when this shooting broke out,’ Pace told reporters.

He said police were already patrolling the area, which is known for its entertainment venues and night life with multiple bars, restaurants and businesses, when the shooters opened fire.

‘I want to emphasize that South Street is manned by numerous police officers,’ Pace said. ‘This is standard deployment for Friday and Saturday night – weekends – and especially during the summer months.’ 

One eye witness said in a tweet that he saw ‘Lots of young kids out doing dumb stuff, in the street & jumping on cars & then a guy in a hoodie pulled a gun out, 11 casings & 2 live rounds on the ground.’ 

A witness to the shooting, Joe Smith, told the Inquirer: ‘Once it started I didn’t think it was going to stop. here was guttural screaming. I just heard screams.’ Smith told the newspaper that when he heard the gunshots, his mind went to the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. 

Smith had been at the Theater of the Living Arts venue in the neighborhood where the band Dying Fetus had been performing. 

‘There was guttural screaming. I just heard screams,’ he recalled, adding howe after he heard the shots, he and other revelers ran down South Street, towards 4th and Bainbridge Streets, to seek safety.

Another witness, Eric Walsh, said he was closing up the outdoor seating area at O’Neals bar on Third Street when he heard shots ring out.

Walsh ushered two customers inside the bar after watching a woman collapse to ground on the corner of Third and South Streets, which he says was less than a quarter-mile away. 

‘People were coming off the street with blood splatters on white sneakers and skinned knees and skinned elbows,’ Walsh told the newspaper. ‘We literally just were balling up napkins and wetting them and handing them to people… it was chaos.’

South Street area resident Maureen Long told NBC 10 she is ‘furious’ about the string of mass shootings plaguing the U.S. 

‘I am furious, not just for my neighborhood, for the whole country. If I hear one more time ‘thoughts and prayers’ – bull****,’ she stated. 

Elsewhere in the city, Mary J. Blige headlined the Roots Picnic concert at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park.

Revelers were also enjoying the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia’s Pride celebrations throughout the city. 

The South Street area is the same location were one person was shot after a female suspect fired multiple shots around 12.30am. on Tuesday. No arrests were made in that shooting that wounded one male in the shoulder. 

He was sent to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in stable condition, reported ABC Philadelphia.  

Prior to tonight’s shootings, there have been 743 nonfatal and 188 fatal shootings in Philadelphia in 2022. 

On the morning of the shooting, a pregnant woman was fatally shot in the head in the city’s Port Richard neighborhood. 

The woman was 34 weeks pregnant, staff at Temple University Hospital were able to safely deliver the baby, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Saturday’s incident in downtown Philadelphia followed recent shootings at a grocery story in Buffalo, New York, an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that left dozens dead. 

There have been at least 239 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group. It defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.

Gun safety advocates are pushing the U.S. government to take stronger measures to curb gun violence. 

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday called on Congress to ban assault weapons, expand background checks and implement other gun control measures to address the string of mass shootings. 

Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic U.S. senator working on bipartisan gun safety talks, said on Sunday he thinks a package including investments in mental health and school safety and some changes to gun laws can pass Congress. 

A broad majority of American voters, both Republicans and Democrats, favor stronger gun control laws, but Republicans in Congress and some moderate Democrats have blocked such legislation for years. 

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