A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire in southwest Philadelphia on Monday night, killing four people and wounding two others, police said.
A male suspect was arrested by police just before 8:40 p.m., authorities said, adding that they recovered a semiautomatic rifle, a handgun and another gun in the alleyway behind the 1600 block of South Frazier Street.
The dead were all men, aged between 20 and 59, police said. Two other victims, 2 and 13, were hospitalized and are stable, they said.
Initial reports suggested eight people were shot and four wounded.
A second person who police believe “raised the gun and returned fire in the direction of the shooter,” is also in custody, Danielle M. Outlaw, the police commissioner, said at a news conference Monday night.
“At this point, we don’t see a connection between any of the victims and the shooter, so we’re still trying to piece it together and figure it out,” Commissioner Outlaw said.
Police, on foot, arrested the suspect in an alley, he said. The suspect was wearing a bulletproof vest that contained “multiple magazines” and had an AR-style rifle, a handgun and a police scanner.
Commissioner Outlaw said he did not know if the suspect fired from a handgun or a rifle before he was arrested but he was “actively shooting.” He said the officers cornered the suspect, ordered him to show his hands, and then arrested him.
“Thank God that our officials responded quickly. I cannot describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown,” he said.
The commissioner said he believed all the victims were on the street, outside or in a car, when they were shot.
Approximately 50 bullet casings were found at the crime scene, which covered a two-by-four-block area, the commissioner said.
According to police, an officer heard gunshots in the Kingsessing neighborhood after 8:30 p.m. and found at least one victim near South 56th Street and Chester Avenue.
In recent years, Philadelphia has been plagued by gun violence, with more fatal shootings than larger cities.
Philadelphia had recorded 185 gun deaths this year as of Sunday, including the deaths of 144 Blacks, according to the Comptroller’s Office (in a city whose population is only 43 percent Black). Another 744 people were injured in the shooting.
The city government has launched a series of efforts to address the crisis, including grants for community groups, violence intervention programs and earlier curfews. And it sued the gun-friendly state legislature for preempting its authority to enact stronger local gun laws, such as reporting requirements for lost or stolen guns. But the large number of guns in the city made it difficult to solve the problem.
In a statement released Monday night, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers called on elected officials to act on gun reform.
“Time and time again, the devastation wrought by the scourge of gun violence continues to tear apart families and leave communities torn apart,” Jerry Jordan, the federation’s president, said in a statement.
Emma Hilton, 70, who lives on 56th Street, where the shots were fired, said the shooting was the third she has experienced in the 11 years she has lived in the neighborhood.
“I’m getting ready to get out of here,” he said on his front porch a few feet from where the police commissioner gave his statement to reporters. “The environment is bad.”
