One dead, eight wounded, in Philadelphia block party shooting

(PHILADELPHIA) — A gunbattle erupted at a Philadelphia block party over the weekend, leaving a teenager dead and eight other people injured, according to police.

The shooting unfolded early Saturday in the Parkside neighborhood in the western part of the city and investigators suspect multiple shooters were involved. At least 38 rounds were fired in the incident, sending a large crowd gathered for the block party scrambling for cover.

At least two other teenagers, both 17-year-old girls, were among the eight people wounded.

Capt. Anthony Mirabella Jr. of the Philadelphia Police Department said numerous 911 calls were made to the police dispatch center at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, reporting a barrage of gunfire and multiple gunshot victims.

The 19-year-old man fatally shot in the incident was hit multiple times by gunfire, police said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 5:40 a.m. Saturday, according to police. The victim’s name is being withheld by police pending an autopsy, authorities said.

Besides the three teenagers shot in the episode, other shooting victims are two 20-year-old women, two 21-year-old women, a 47-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, according to police.

A motive for the shooting remains under investigation. No arrests were announced.

The shooting came just two days after another shooting on the same block of North Creighton Street left a 30-year-old man dead, according to police. The victim, whose name has not been released, was shot in the chest in the doorway of a home around 2 a.m. Thursday and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, according to police.

Police have not determined if Thursday’s homicide is connected to Saturday’s mass casualty incident.

“We know residents are frustrated with the violence that continues to plague our city, and our administration continues to do everything we can to stop the violence,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. He called Saturday night’s shooting in Parkside “alarming and tragic.”

Shootings incidents in Philadelphia are down about 24% this year compared to this time in 2022, according to the latest weekly crime data report released by the police department on Aug. 14. The statistics show that the number of homicides is also down this year by about 28% compared to the 339 homicides that had occurred by this time in 2022.

The latest mass casualty shooting to rock Philadelphia occurred a little over a month since five people were killed and two children were wounded over the Fourth of July weekend in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood. The suspect, Kimbrady Carriker, 40, of Philadelphia was arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, as well as aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, carrying a firearm without a license and other charges.

Carriker, who was allegedly wielding an AR-15-style rifle and wearing a mask during the shooting rampage, has yet to enter a plea to the charges.