Three people are confirmed dead and 11 wounded after at least 2 gunmen fired into a crowd on South Street in Philadelphia on Saturday night.
The deceased were identified as Gregory Jackson, 34; Alexis Quinn, 27; and 22-year-old Kris Minners, according to Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
The 11 wounded victims range in age from 17 to 43. They are listed in stable to critical condition. Officials believe the shooting was sparked by an earlier confrontation with one of the men who died.
“Once again, we see lives senselessly lost and those injured in yet another horrendous, brazen and despicable act of gun violence,” Mayor Jim Kenney wrote in a statement Sunday morning. “My heart is with the family, friends, loved ones of those lost or injured, and with everyone impacted by this terrible tragedy.”
South Street is a highly trafficked area with a dense mix of restaurants, bars and stores.
Outlaw said extra officers were assigned to the area to control larger-than-average crowds due to “several events going on in the city at one time.”
“There were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street, as they do every weekend, when this shooting broke out,” Philadelphia Police Inspector D. F. Pace said.
An officer shot at one of the fleeing gunmen but missed, Pace said.
The weekend shootings left residents outraged and pleading with officials to bring back the controversial stop-and-frisk policy that helps to remove illegal guns from the streets.
The Pittsburgh City Council held a meeting on the stop-and-frisk policy last week, before this weekend’s bloodshed in Philly.
The bill was proposed in January and has been discussed for months, CBS News reported.
Stop-and-frisk encounters are increasing in New York City under Mayor Eric Adams.
The NYPD has been accused of under reporting the rate that cops stop-and-frisk suspicious individuals.
Guns are illegal in New York City but the rate of gun violence continues to rise.
