US: 4 killed, 2 wounded in Philadelphia shooting
July 4, 2023
Four people were been killed and two others injured in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on Monday night, in the latest outbreak of gun violence in the United States.
Police said that a gunman, wearing a bulletproof jacket, opened fire on the street in Philadelphia's southwestern neighborhood of Kingsessing.
What we know about the Philadelphia shooting
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told the media at a briefing that officers chased the suspect while he continued to fire and he was arrested after surrendering in an alley.
"At this point, all we know is that this person decided to leave their home and target individuals," Outlaw said.
He had multiple magazines, an "AR-type rifle," a handgun and a police scanner, she added.
Outlaw said the crime scene was spread over several blocks.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that people were shot at different locations and that the two injured victims were children, aged 2 and 13.
The local newspaper also said that the suspect was a 40-year-old man, with the deceased victims — all male — aged between 20 and 59. An unidentified victim may have been as young as 16, the Inquirer reported.
Mass shootings in the US
The shooting comes just a day after two people were killed and 28 others wounded in another mass shooting in Baltimore, Maryland. Nearly half of the injured were children.
According to the non-profit group Gun Violence Archive, there have been 339 mass shootings — meaning at least four people are injured or killed — in the US this year.
dvv/ab (AFP, AP, Reuters)