Five Dead, Two Injured As Man Opens Gunfire In Philadelphia

Five individuals were murdered and two children were injured after a man wearing a bullet-proof vest opened fire in the US city of Philadelphia.

The suspect, a 40-year-old man who has since been apprehended, was carrying an AR-15-style weapon, a handgun, a police scanner, and ammo.

He has no known link to the victims, and the shooting looked to be random due to the lack of a clear purpose.

Police were called to the city’s southwestern Kingsessing neighbourhood on Monday.

“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 the hospital, they also heard multiple gunshots.”

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Officers then pursued the man on foot while gunfire rang out, destroying parked cars and leaving shell casing on the streets.

Police apprehended the man in an alleyway at approximately 20:40 local time (00:40 Tuesday GMT). He surrendered and was apprehended without additional incident.

Police first stated that four persons had been slain, all of whom were men aged 20 to 59. The two injured children, ages two and thirteen, were transferred to the hospital and are in good condition.

However, victim number five was discovered early Tuesday. A body was located inside a building in the same neighborhood, and the individual is thought to have died as a result of the shooting spree.

“At this point, all we know is that this person decided to leave their home and target individuals,” Commissioner Outlaw said, adding that she had “absolutely no idea why this happened.”

“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 attack on the eve of Independence Day happened just a day after two people were killed and 28 were injured, nearly half of them were children, in a shooting in Baltimore, Maryland.