Two separate mass shootings on Fourth of July, during America’s independence day celebration in Philadelphia and Texas leave many dead & injured.
A man wearing a bullet-proof vest killed five people and injured two children in a mass shooting in Philadelphia.
The 40-year-old man who has been arrested had an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun, a police scanner, and ammunition on him.
According to the police, the shooting happened in the city’s southwestern Kingsessing area.
“When officers responded, they did identify and find some gunshot victims,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. “As they were scooping up the victims and preparing them for transport to hospital, they also heard multiple gunshots.”
The gunman was chased by the police on foot while the gun duel continued, damaging parked cars and littering the streets with bullet shell casings.
The shooter surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident after he was cornered in an alleyway.
According to Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, the “armed and armored” suspect fired his weapon at random, shooting seven, killing five, “including children, babies”.
“On what was supposed to be a beautiful summer evening, this armed and armored individual wreaked havoc, firing with a rifle at their victims seemingly at random,” she said Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities believe he acted alone and said he was also not linked to the victims.
Ernest Ransom, a staff police inspector, said the first victim believed to have been killed during the mass shooting was not discovered for several hours as they were home alone at the time they were shot.
The suspect who wore a ski mask shot at vehicles, including one driven by a mother with young twins, who were both injured.
The names of the deceased have been released; Lashyd Merritt, 20; Dymir Stanton, 29; Ralph Moralis, 59; Joseph Wamah Jr, 31; and 15-year-old Daujan Brown.
Another person who obtained a gun and shot at the gunman was also in police custody. The police said they were not planning to bring up a charge against him.
“When you are under fire in a mass shooting, there are rights to protect others and rights to protect yourself,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
The killer, who is likely to be denied bail, will be faced with multiple counts of murder, aggravated assault, and weapons charges.
Texas July 4 Shooting
Gunfire also erupted at a neighborhood festival in Fort Worth, Texas, four hours after the Philadelphia shooting. Three people lost their lives and eight others were injured.
“A person walking down the city street with an AR-style rifle and shooting randomly at people while wearing a bulletproof vest with multiple magazines is a disgraceful but all-too-common situation in America,” Kenney said, decrying America’s gun problems. “I was today at Independence Hall where they wrote that Constitution and the 2nd Amendment was never intended to protect this.”
“I saw every porch empty. I saw every door closed. I saw every curtain where there was a curtain pulled. I saw no kids playing,” he said, describing a bicycle left on a corner, apparently untouched for 12 or more hours, “as if everybody understood what happened here was so horrible that for right now this is a desert, and for right now everything that we associate with celebrating Fourth of July is off.”
