3 Killed In Philadelphia After Several Shooters Open Fire Into Crowd, Police Say

Topline

Some 14 people were shot—three of whom were killed—after “several active shooters” opened fire into a crowd in downtown Philadelphia shortly before midnight Saturday, police said, the latest in a series of shootings that have rekindled debate over gun control laws.

Three people were killed in a shooting in Philadelphia Saturday night, police said.

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Key Facts

Police conducting normal patrols of South Street—a busy nightlife area in Philadelphia’s Center City district—spotted multiple shooters firing at a crowd of people late Saturday, Philadelphia Police Department inspector D.F. Pace told reporters on Sunday.

The deceased included two men and a woman who were pronounced dead at a hospital after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, Pace said.

An officer fired at a shooter from 10 or 15 yards, causing the shooter to drop his gun and flee the scene, though it remains unclear whether the shooter was hit, Pace said.

At least two semiautomatic handguns—including one with an extended magazine—were found at the scene, along with “numerous” shell casings, Pace said.

What We Don’t Know

Police “don’t have a lot of information” about the suspects, but hope to gather substantial video footage from cameras at area businesses, Pace said.

Key Background

Saturday’s shooting follows a series of highly publicized shootings last month in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Buffalo, New York; and Uvalde, Texas, where 19 elementary school students and two teachers were killed by a single gunman May 24. Mass shootings and active-shooter incidents have become more frequent in the United States over the last two years, and the number of active shooter incidents that qualify as “mass killings” with three or more deaths increased from five in 2020 to 12 last year, the FBI reported.

Big Number

309. That’s the number of gun violence incidents that have occurred in the U.S. in the last 72 hours, according to research nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

Tangent

Key Democrats including Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (Ill.) have said the Uvalde shooting could mark a turning point in the national gun control debate, possibly allowing a bipartisan compromise to modestly boost gun restrictions. On Thursday, President Joe Biden urged Congress to revive the 1994-2004 federal assault weapons ban and implement a federal red flag law, which would allow courts to temporarily take guns from people believed to be a danger to themselves or others. However, some Republican officials like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott argue the solution to mass shootings is to increase security at facilities like schools and to improve mental health resources.