Violence erupted in urban areas over the weekend, leaving several people dead and more wounded.
June’s first weekend saw several shootings in states across the U.S., including Arizona, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and South Carolina, killing at least ten people and injuring dozens more. (RELATED: Los Angeles Gangs Are Prowling The City In Crews, Targeting And Robbing The Super Rich, Police Say)
Arizona:
Two men died, and two other people were injured during a shooting at The Lounge Soho nightclub in Mesa, Arizona, Sunday, reported KXNV-TV.
Mesa Police Sgt. Chuck Trapani said police arrived on the scene to find two men had died from gunshot wounds, reported KIRO 7. Two people were injured and taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the outlet.
Trapani said police are investigating three people tracked in a vehicle leaving the nightclub parking lot, KIRO 7 reported.
“When the first officers arrived on scene, they saw a silver car fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed,” said Trapani, according to the outlet. “We initiated a pursuit with that vehicle.”
“At this point in the investigation, their involvement, if any, in the shooting is unknown,” Mesa police said in a statement according to KIRO 7.
#BREAKING Two people are dead and two others are hospitalized after a shooting at a Mesa bar this morning.https://t.co/q4qicQnM8L #abc15 pic.twitter.com/WkqJHNCrjI
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) June 5, 2022
The shooting at the Mesa nightclub happened just one day after a shooting at a Phoenix strip mall killed one and injured eight others, reported ABC 15.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Williams said a 14-year-old girl died from a gunshot wound after a fight broke out in a group of about 100 people at the mall and escalated into a shooting, according to the report.
“I heard over a hundred gunshots going off. I heard people doing burnouts and doing donuts in the street for probably a good hour and a half prior to gunshots going off,” a witness told ABC 15. “A group of people that just started running in every direction. I, myself, was like hiding behind cars as the shots kept getting closer and closer.”
No arrests have been made, according to the report.
Pennsylvania:
Multiple shooters attacked Philadelphia’s popular downtown area, South Street, on Saturday, killing three people and wounding at least 11 more, KHOU 11 reported.
Law enforcement was patrolling the area when they say at least five gunmen opened fire on a crowd of people sometime near 11:30 p.m. Saturday, reported the outlet. The gunfire broke out after two men, one of them who died, got into a physical altercation before firing at each other, according to KHOU.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said police arrived on the scene to find several people suffering from gunshot wounds. Police believe one of the shooters was shot by police during the violence. An officer saw a man firing into the crowded Philadelphia street when the officer fired back several times, KHOU reported.
A total of five handguns were found at the scene, according to KHOU.
Three were killed & 12 injured in a mass shooting on Saturday night in Philadelphia. Video footage captured the moments leading up to and during the shooting: pic.twitter.com/2PBCqbZ1sN
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 6, 2022
After the violence, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney blocked pedestrian and vehicle traffic from 8:00 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. Monday in parts of the city, according to a city announcement.
“By order of the Mayor: From 8 p.m. tonight until 6 a.m. tomorrow, to avoid congregation, and due to patterns of recent violence in the area and ongoing safety concerns, there will be no pedestrian or vehicular traffic between Front & 6th Streets from Bainbridge to Lombard,” the City of Philadelphia tweeted.
⚠️ By order of the Mayor: From 8 p.m. tonight until 6 a.m. tomorrow, to avoid congregation, and due to patterns of recent violence in the area and ongoing safety concerns, there will be no pedestrian or vehicular traffic between Front & 6th Streets from Bainbridge to Lombard. pic.twitter.com/H18WXuxeq1
— City of Philadelphia (@PhiladelphiaGov) June 5, 2022
Tennessee:
Officers responded to a report of a shooting near a Chattanooga, Tennessee, nightclub Sunday morning, reported CBS. Multiple shooters fired at a group of people at 2:42 am on McCallie Avenue near a local nightclub leaving three dead and fourteen injured.
Police Chief Celeste Murphy said two victims died from gunshot wounds and one person died after being hit by a car while trying to flee the scene, reported CBS.
Murphy said the shooting was likely an isolated incident but that investigators still haven’t found the cause, according to the outlet.
“We’re trying to determine exactly what happened and what led up to this taking place,” Murphy said according to CBS.
Moments before the shooting last night in Chattanooga, Tennessee: 3 people killed, 17 wounded.
Hundreds jumping on cars dancing on cars.
The restaurants had to move their patrons inside. They were locked inside for quite some time due to all the violence. pic.twitter.com/1MttpQb7sj
— 🇺🇸 Michael 2022 🇺🇸 (@Michael20224) June 5, 2022
South Carolina:
Authorities say around 150 people were at an outdoor high school graduation party in Summerton, South Carolina, when a drive-by shooting killed one woman, Audrionna Kind, reported CBS.
Police said the shooting also injured six children ages 12-17 and one adult, 36, according to the outlet.
Two vehicles drove up to the party and opened fire, witnesses told CBS local, WLTX-TV. Clarendon County Sheriff Tim Baxley said the shooting appeared to be gang-related, the outlet reported.
Kind’s cousin Adrienne Kind said the community needs safety.
“We need justice. We need justice, and we need it because we need our kids to be safe in the community. We shouldn’t have to walk around having to watch our backs,” Kind told WCSC.
A separate cousin of the victim, Alonso Felder, set up a GoFundMe account for the family, according to the outlet. “I’m going to miss everything about her, everything,” Felder told WCSC.