Philadelphia – A popular entertainment area on the South side of Philadelphia turned into a wrecking carnage when several shooters opened fire killing 3 people and wounding 11 others in the area.
The South Street area of Philadelphia was struck by active shooters who opened up gunfire in a recent mass shooting incident in America.
According to the Philadelphia police inspector D.F. Pace, the officers were patrolling the area of the South Street when they heard gunshots and saw “several active shooters shooting straight into the crowd.”
The police commissioner of Philadelphia, Danielle Outlaw held a press conference on Sunday giving out the worrisome details of the shooting incident that is said to occur approximately around 11:31 pm on Saturday night.
She stated that the officers present at the South Street “observed several civilians suffering from gunshot wounds, lying on the sidewalk and in the street.” The officers rushed quickly to get first aid for those who had been injured.
Danielle Outlaw stated that five guns were recovered from the crime scene. They all were used by the shooters after what it seems like a “physical altercation.” One of the shooters was shot and wounded by the police but he escaped, whereas, another suspected gunman who seemed like was involved in a physical altercation as well was killed on the spot. He is one of the people killed on that fateful night.
The other two deceased were innocent and are believed to be bystanders or passersby.
Two handguns were also recovered from the crime scene and one of them had an extended magazine attached to it.
At this point, no arrests have been made in the connection to the mass shooting incident. The motive of the insane shooting still remains unclear.
“At this point, we don’t know whether or not the altercation that took place was between a group of individuals, or if this was tied to another group or affiliation,” Outlaw said.
The police commissioner further stated that one of the patrolling police officers saw an armed man firing from a handgun at a large crowd. The officer “fired several times in the direction of the unknown male, we believe striking him.. The unknown male dropped his handgun on the sidewalk, and ran southbound on 600 American street. The male was then lost in the area.”
The police department has released the name and ages of the victims. 34-year-old Gregory Jackson lost his life that night along with Alexis Quinn who was 27-year-old. Another victim, 22-years-old also died but his identity has not been released by the police.
All the injured are aged between 17 to 69. 11 people got injured in this incident and it is said that one of them is in a critical condition.
“Yesterday was a dark day for Philadelphia,” Outlaw said. “And while many of us were out enjoying the beautiful day in the city, a horrendous and unthinkable act happened in a very popular local and tourist hangout.”
This violent mass shooting incident in Philadelphia becomes the ninth incident of this type over the weekend when hundreds of people are out on the street celebrating Memorial Day.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, about 246 incidents of mass shootings have occurred in the United States of America this year.
“The surge in gun violence that we’ve seen across the nation — and here in Philadelphia — makes me not just heartbroken, but angry,” Philadelphia”, Mayor Jim Kenney said Sunday.
“Once again, we see lives senselessly lost and those injured in yet another horrendous, brazen, and despicable act of gun violence.” The mayor has also summoned a curfew on different parts of downtown Philadelphia from Sunday 8 pm till Monday 6 am to cite the “patterns of recent violence in the area and ongoing safety concerns.”
