Two are dead and another injured after around 100 shots were fired into a crowd in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July.
The shooting occurred just after 10:30 p.m. in front of the Premiere Bande store on 60th Street, where people had gathered for a cookout hosted by the owner of the fashion brand, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia. Investigators claimed that 90 to 100 shots may have been fired by one or more gunmen into the crowd, killing two young men and injuring a 16-year-old girl, NBC 10 reported.
The aftermath of 100 bullets tearing through a West Philly block. Bullet holes in cars, windows, store fronts… and two young men left dead, their 4th of July BBQ targeted by at least one gunman firing indiscriminately @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/Vac3gcHwO6
— Randy Gyllenhaal (@RandyGyllenhaal) July 5, 2021
One of the victims, a 23-year-old male, helped organize the July 4 cookout through social media, the victim’s father said, according to NBC 10 reporter Randy Gyllenhaal.
“My son is the greatest person … I’ve ever known in my life, he’s everything I wish I would have been,” the victim’s father said, NBC 10 reported. “He’s not just anybody who just — the 287 or 89, I can’t keep count no more — he’s not one of them people,” the father said in reference to the at least 281 homicides reported in Philadelphia this year, according to NBC 10.
The figure reportedly marks a 37% increase compared to last year, which was one of the deadliest years in the city’s history. The father added that his son was a leader in the community who organized charity events, Gyllenhaal said in a tweet. (RELATED: Here’s How Many People Were Shot In NYC Over July 4th Weekend)
The shooting happened during peak of fireworks — a young store owner on the block organized a BBQ with friends and family. One or possibly multiple gunmen began firing indiscriminately. The father of the 23-year-old store owner says his son was a community leader @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/UdHedTxIng
— Randy Gyllenhaal (@RandyGyllenhaal) July 5, 2021
Fourth of July fireworks masked the sound of the gunfire and made it difficult for people to discern where the shooting was coming from, NBC 10 noted. So many shots were fired that police investigating the scene ran out of evidence markers and had to resort to writing numbers on pieces of paper to mark evidence, such as evidence marker 104, a photo tweeted by Gyllenhaal showed. Bullet holes were scattered throughout the area on cars and buildings.
“104” – Running out of evidence markers, @PhillyPolice use cardboard to count nearly *100 gunshots* fired in West Philly at a 4th of July BBQ. 60th and Walnut St. Police say two young men killed, a teen girl also shot @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/rrhfQvBSIl
— Randy Gyllenhaal (@RandyGyllenhaal) July 5, 2021
The victims’ identities have not yet been made public, and no arrests have been made in the shooting.