More People Killed in Philadelphia, Arizona, Elsewhere

U.S. Cannot Go a Day Without Mass Shooting

Date: 05 June 2022 - 21:59

News ID: ۱۰۳۳۳۷

PHILADELPHIA (Dispatches) -- Three people were killed and 11 were injured Saturday night in a shooting in downtown Philadelphia, the authorities said.
Police officers were patrolling South Street, a lively area with many restaurants, when “they observed several active shooters shooting into the crowd,” Inspector D.F. Pace of the Philadelphia Police Department said at a news conference early Sunday.
One of the officers had fired at one of the gunmen, but it was unclear whether the gunman had been hit, Inspector Pace said.
Fourteen victims were taken to a hospital after the shooting, he said, adding that among them, two men and a woman had been pronounced dead upon arrival. Their names have not yet been released.
“You can imagine there were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street, as they do every single weekend, when this shooting broke out,” Inspector Pace said.
He said that the investigation was continuing, and that the police would review surveillance footage to help identify the gunmen.
At least two guns have been recovered from the scene, one with an extended magazine, Inspector Pace said, adding that numerous shell casings littered the surrounding area.
The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization, has counted nearly 240 mass shootings so far this year, defined as one in which four or more people were killed or injured. Shootings in the United States rose sharply during the pandemic.
A 14-year-old girl was killed and eight others were wounded early Saturday in a shooting amid a crowd of people at a mall northwest of downtown Phoenix, police said.
Sgt. Andy Williams told reporters that nine people were taken to hospitals after the 1 a.m. shooting sent people running near 10th Avenue and Hatcher Road. The 14-year-old girl died after being taken to the hospital, two women have life-threatening injuries, and six have injuries that are not life-threatening.
In an interview posted by ABC 15 Williams said no suspects were immediately identified and no arrests were made while authorities pieced together witness accounts.
Williams said it appeared that a handgun was used after an argument erupted among those gathered for what he termed “some sort of party.”
“Many rounds were shot into this crowd of people as everyone fled the area,” he said. Williams said the wounded range in age from about 17 to 24.
The shooting happened about an hour after police reported that a teenage boy was shot and killed outside his home about three blocks away. It was not immediately clear if the two shootings were related.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego responded to the shooting on Twitter, saying: “Seems we can’t go a day without another mass shooting.”
“Time has run out,” she said. “Change must happen now.”

The shootings come after a gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last month. Residents who would normally be celebrating the first full week of summer vacation are now attending funerals instead.
The shooting has triggered new debate over gun rights – and calls from gun violence survivors and gun reform advocates to enact change.