CNN
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Philadelphia police are investigating a mass shooting that left five people dead and two children injured across a sprawling scene Monday evening, before authorities arrested a suspect who they said had a bulletproof vest, an AR-15 style rifle and a handgun.
Authorities initially said four people, all adult men, were killed. But early Tuesday, they announced the discovery of a fifth body in a house in the same Kingsessing neighborhood in southwestern Philadelphia, saying they believe based on preliminary evidence that person, also a man, was killed in the same spree.
The shooting spanned several blocks and consisted of at least 50 spent shell casings and damaged vehicles, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle M. Outlaw said in a Monday night news conference.
Authorities have “absolutely no idea” why the shooting happened, Outlaw said, and have yet to find any connection between the victims and the suspect, who has not been identified. Outlaw believes he is 40 years old, she said.
When officers arrested the suspect after a foot pursuit, he was wearing a bulletproof vest stocked with several ammunition magazines and was carrying the two guns and a scanner, according to the commissioner.
“We’re canvassing the area to get as much as we can – to identify witnesses, to identify where cameras are located, and do everything we can to figure out the ‘why’ behind this happening,” she said.
The gunfire in Philadelphia erupted Monday evening as the United States endures a seemingly neverending epidemic of gun violence, including another Monday night shooting in Fort Worth, Texas, that left at least three people dead and eight wounded. Another shooting in Baltimore on Saturday left two people dead and 28 others injured.
The shootings in all three cities were among at least 345 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
“This devastating violence must stop,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a tweet Monday evening.
“My heart is with the loved ones and families of everyone involved, and I send my prayers to the victims,” Kenney said.
Outlaw described the conditions of the injured children – ages 2 and 13 – as stable.
Of the four slain victims that police initially knew about, three were men ages 20, 22 and 59. The fourth was also a man but investigators didn’t know his age, Outlaw said.
The fifth victim was a 31-year-old man, city police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. He was discovered early Tuesday hours after the other victims were found in a home in Kingsessing, a neighborhood that sits on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in southwest Philadelphia.
A second person also was in custody Monday night – someone who authorities believe may have returned fire, Outlaw said.
President Joe Biden condemned the “wave of tragic and senseless shootings” across the country, saying in a statement he and first lady Jill Biden “grieve for those who have lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence.”
Tuesday, he pointed out, marks one year since a mass shooting at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, left seven dead and dozens more wounded.
Police officers were flagged down in the area where the shooting began around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Outlaw said, and discovered multiple gunshot victims.
“As they were scooping up victims and preparing them for transport to the hospital, they also heard multiple gunshots up the street,” Outlaw said.
Again, as officers were responding to the second shooting scene, more gunshots could be heard on a nearby street, she said.
Officers found the suspect and pursued him on foot as he continued shooting, Outlaw said. The suspect was finally cornered in an alley and apprehended, she said.
“Thank God our officers were here on scene (and) they responded as quickly as they did,” Outlaw said Monday. “I can’t even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown.”
The body of the slain 31-year-old man was found around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday by his father in the living room, according to Small, the chief inspector.
The father reported this to an officer who was in the area investigating the shooting from hours earlier. The man had been shot several times, and responding medics declared him dead shortly after, Small said.
Investigators found seven rifle rounds inside the home, Small said. Because of the home’s location and ballistic evidence, investigators believe that person’s death is related to the others, Small said.
“We believe now this is the seventh (person shot) and it’ll be the fifth person that was shot and killed,” Small said.