One man was killed and five others were injured when gunmen opened fire on a Philadelphia “pop-up” party, which was attended by at least 150 people on Saturday morning, according to police.
The shooting in a residential area of the Nicetown neighborhood began inside a restaurant with a space for events and then continued into the street, with bullet casings spanning several blocks, said the commissioner of the Philadelphia Police, Danielle Outlaw.
“There were at least 150 people there who fled and thought they had to flee for their lives, so that’s a pretty big thing,” he said.
Police began receiving calls about the shootings at 4200 Germantown Avenue at around 3:45 a.m. and when officers arrived, they found five of the victims, including a man who was shot in the body. and once in the head, Outlaw said. The man was taken by police to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. After giving another age initially, police later said he was 29 years old.
The other five, one of whom had already been taken to a hospital when police arrived, are expected to survive, the commissioner said. The victims are between 29 and 41 years old and include four men and two women, PPD spokeswoman Tanya Little said.
One person was killed and five others were injured when shots were fired at a “pop-up” party in Philadelphia. Katy Zachry, of NBC10, reports.
Outlaw said the shooting occurred at an illegal “emerging” party that took place in the space of a restaurant that had already been cited by police several times. He said police have closed the event space in the past, but the restaurant has remained open and now the PPD will contact city management about possible additional sanctions.
The fact that it happened in a residential neighborhood was “worrisome,” he added.
More of these “emerging” illegal parties have begun to emerge despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings as more people want to go out, Outlaw said.
It is also worrying that the city is experiencing more and more shootings.
In the week ending March 14, 695 shots were fired across Philadelphia, according to PPD data. As of March 19, the city had already seen 106 homicides, not including the victim in the Nicetown shooting.
“We thought the shootings or the violence would slow down at some point because of the weather, and frankly, I think we’ve seen that no, no,” Outlaw said.
He said he worries that as temperatures get warmer and end up driving in the summer, more people will be shot. The keys to curbing the tide will be partnerships with community stakeholders, as well as more police patrols, both on cruises and on foot, in areas with a high level of crime, Outlaw said.
City leaders, including Outlaw and Mayor Jim Kenney, have also begun holding weekly press conferences dedicated to curbing gun violence.
There are additional resources for individuals or communities who have suffered armed violence in Philadelphia. You can find more information here.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the exact age of the victims after the police initially gave other ages.