A suspect is in custody after five people were killed and two more were injured in a mass shooting that unfolded in the Kingsessing section of Southwest Philadelphia on Monday night.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told reporters that two who were injured are boys aged 2 and 13. They were in a stable condition at a hospital.
Law enforcement swiftly responded to the scene after a police officer heard gunshots and discovered at least one victim near South 56th Street and Chester Avenue. As officers arrived, they received multiple reports of an armed male with a rifle still firing shots in the vicinity.
Four victims were found at different locations and transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for urgent medical attention. At the same time, an additional four victims arrived at the same hospital via private vehicle.
Among the victims, at least two were juveniles, whose conditions are yet to be disclosed. Police said they were expected to be taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A suspect was taken into custody just before 8:40 p.m. Officers recovered a rifle, a handgun, and additional magazines of ammunition in the alleyway behind the 1600 block of South Frazier Street. The suspect was wearing a ballistic vest, police say.
The suspect’s motives are currently unknown.
