Five dead in July 4 Philly bloodbath: Gunman, 40, armed with AR, handgun, magazines, police scanner

A heavily armed gunman wearing a bulletproof vest shot dead five men and injured two children in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on the eve of the Fourth of July.

Wielding an assault rifle and handgun, the 40-year-old suspect, who has not yet been named, began shooting at random as he stalked the streets of the largely residential neighborhood of Kingsessing for more victims to kill.

The mass shooter is now in custody after he tried to outsmart cops by using a police scanner but within ten minutes of launching his spree he was tracked down.

The killer left four men aged between 20 and 59 dead, as well as another male believed to be between 16 and 21. Two children, aged two and 13, were rushed to hospital but are in a stable condition, cops said.

Families had been enjoying the July 4 festivities when the gunman began opening fire at his unsuspecting victims.

The shooter was quickly pursued and arrested by cops, who found the suspect was armed with an AR-style rifle, a handgun, and multiple magazines in his bullet proof vest.

A second person who cops believe had ‘picked up the gun and returned fire in the direction of the shooter’ was also in custody, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said late Monday night.

Police place a rifle in a bag on the scene of a shooting on July 3, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

‘At this point all we know is that this person decided to leave their home and target individuals,’ Outlaw said, noting that the shooter had seemingly no connection to any of the victims. 

Security camera video shows the shooter walking down the street calmly while firing at people before responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire. 

Outlaw said she did not know if the suspect was firing from his rifle or handgun at the time he was chased by cops, but confirmed he was ‘actively shooting’. She said officers managed to corner the suspect in the alleyway before ordering him to show his hands and arresting him.   

‘Thank God our officers responded as quickly as they did. I can’t even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown,’ Outlaw said.  

Officers were flagged down at about 8:30 p.m., and multiple calls of shots fired came in from the Kingsessing.  

Philadelphia police were dispatched to 56th Street and Chester Avenue, where they found several victims – some of whom were fatally wounded. 

The officers then heard multiple gunshots further up the street on Kingsessing Avenue where they found ‘multiple casings’. The cops advanced further down the street before hearing more gunshots in the area of 1800 block of Frazier Street.

‘At some point, they locate the suspect and the officers were able to pursue him on foot,’ Outlaw said. ‘They pursued him from Kingsessing along Frazier Street to Springfield while the male was shooting.’

Officers were then able to apprehend the suspect in the rear alley of 1600 block of Frazier street and found he was armed with the rifle, handgun, multiple magazines and a police scanner. The police did not fire any shots themselves.

Police spokesperson Jasmine Reilly told the network four victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and two were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Outlaw said at a news conference that all four victims of the mass shooting were male, including the two-year-old and the 13-year-old. A mass shooting is defined by the FBI as an incident in which at least four people are murdered with a gun.

She described the scene as covering an area of two by four blocks and said around 50 spent shell casings were found.

‘At this point you can see there are several scenes out here,’ Outlaw said. ‘We’re canvassing the area to get as much as we can, to identify witnesses, to identify where cameras are located and to do everything to figure out the why.’

Three of the dead men ranged in age from 20 to 59. Outlaw said cops have yet to identify the fourth victim but believe he could be between the ages of 16 and 21. 

Four people are dead and four more are injured, including two juveniles, after a mass shooting in Philadelphia Monday night, as a man wearing a ballistic vest has been taken into custody

Brief security camera video shows the shooter just walking down the street, firing at people

Responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire, and he was arrested in an alley after surrendering, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference

The gunman had a bulletproof vest, multiple magazines, an ‘AR-type rifle,’ a handgun and a police scanner, she added

Philadelphia police were dispatched to 56th Street and Chester Avenue, where they found several victims

Police spokesperson Jasmine Reilly told the network six victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and two were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

There didn’t appear to be a connection between the shooter and the victims. The suspect was arrested in an alley without incident, Outlaw said. 

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, tweeted about the shooting about two hours later. 

‘Horrified by the reports of a shooting in Southwest Philadelphia,’ he said. ‘My heart is with the loved ones and families of everyone involved, and I send my prayers to the victims.’ 

‘My sincere thanks to @PhillyPolice for their brave response and successful apprehension of a suspect.’

The Philadelphia violence is the country’s 29th mass killing in 2023, the highest on record by this time in the year. 

And the Kingsessing neighborhood is becoming more and more dangerous, locals say.

‘It’s getting worse,’ Emma Hilton, 70, who lives on the 1600 block of South 56th Street, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. ‘My kids [are] getting ready to take me up out of here.’ 

She said that with mass shootings on her doorstep, she is now thinking of moving further south to be with her children. They have been trying to convince her to do so for years. 

‘It’s never been on this block,’ Hilton, who has lived in her home for 11 years, said. ‘It’s really gotten worse. It’s time to go.’ 

The mass shooting occurred a day after gunfire erupted at a holiday weekend block party in Baltimore, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the southwest, killing two people and wounding 28 others. The wounded in that shooting ranged in age from 13 to 32, with more than half of them minors, according to officials.

Police work the scene of a shooting on July 3, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The suspected shooter was identified as a 40-year-old man. One other person was in custody, but no other details were immediately available

The Philadelphia violence marks the country´s 29th mass killing in 2023, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

So far this year, the nation has witnessed the highest number on record of mass killings and deaths to this point in a single year.

There have been more than 550 mass killing incidents since 2006, according to the database, in which at least 2,900 people have died and at least 2,000 people have been injured.

Police are still investigating the shooting.