A manhunt for three shooters is underway after a mass shooting that has left two people are dead and nine others injured.
Gunfire broke out in a Philadelphia park last night, claiming the lives of Mikhail Bowers, 21, and Amya Devlin, 23.
This morning, Mayor Cherelle Parker confirmed that investigators found three different types of bullet casings at the scene.
‘I was unfortunately just informed that because they found three different types of casings, we know that there were three shooters,’ said Parker.
The suspects have not been identified and remain on the run at this time.
Though no no weapons have been recovered, Parker said the suspects did not appear to use handguns and said there are ‘no excuses’ for the ‘heinous act of violence that was inhumane’.
‘We will not be held hostage by anyone who decides that they want to get assault-like weapons, guns with switches,’ she said.
‘I hear the law enforcement officials our police department, they’re listening to video, and they’re listening to the shots being fired, and it’s clear, you know, that it’s not a handgun.’
Earlier, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said: ‘We can hear multiple rounds from stuff that’s been already posted on social media – the team will dissect that.
‘It’s pretty rapid fire, so we’re pretty confident that there probably was a switch on his gun.’
He said the shooting was ‘unprovoked, unscheduled, unplanned’.
The incident happened just before 10.30pm at Lemon Hill, Fairmount Park, where people had gathered to celebrate Memorial Day.
Commissioner Bethel confirmed that the victims are in a stable condition.
They were taken to several hospitals across the city, including Philadelphia Children’s Hospital.
Among the injured were:
- Boy, 15, shot in the thigh
- Girl, 16, shot in the thigh
- Girl, 16, shot in the leg
- Woman, 18, shot in the foot
- Woman, 19, shot in the head
- Woman, 19, shot in the hand
- Man, 20, shot in the arm
- Woman, 23, shot in the nose
- Man, 27, shot in the arm
Parker said the shooting was ‘not normal’.
‘We won’t normalize the behaviour here in our city,’ she said.
The Philadelphia incident was the second mass shooting reported over the Memorial Day weekend.
Just hours earlier, another 11 people were injured after a gunman opened fire on a private boat in Little River, South Carolina.
