Mass shooting in West Philadelphia: 3 dead, 6 injured

Three people were killed and six others injured in a mass shooting at a party in West Philadelphia early Sunday morning.

More than 100 people were attending a barbecue in the 1200 block of North Alden Street in the Carroll Park neighborhood when a shooting that stemmed from an argument broke out shortly after 2 a.m., according to law enforcement sources. When officers arrived, they found several people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to police.

A 33-year-old man who Police Chief DF Pace said was shot “at close range” and likely targeted was pronounced dead at the scene. A 23-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds died shortly after being taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. The third victim was 29, police said, and was also pronounced dead at Penn Presbyterian after being shot in the abdomen.

The names of the victims were not released.

Two semi-automatic pistols were recovered from two of the victims. Another semi-automatic pistol was given to investigators by a witness, according to sources. Investigators at the scene recovered 36 cartridge cases fired from at least three weapons.

Police say two 28-year-old men are in stable condition at Penn Presbyterian, one with a gunshot wound to the thigh and the other to the foot. Another 28-year-old man is in stable condition at Lankenau Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

A 30-year-old man, the brother of one of the men killed, is also in stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with gunshot wounds to his thighs, police said. Another man, 27, is being treated at Penn Presbyterian for a graze wound to the head and a gunshot wound to the leg.

A 26-year-old woman was also shot and is being treated at Penn Presbyterian, police said.

Officials plan to review surveillance footage of the incident. Police confirmed a gun was found at the scene of the barbecue, but as of early Sunday evening, no arrests had been made and none of the suspects had been taken into custody. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration has also been notified, police said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact police at 215-686-8477.

Far from the norm in Carroll Park

Police officers familiar with the area told the Inquirer that violence is less common in Carroll Park, a section of West Philadelphia that shares its name with a public park on Girard Avenue between 58th and 59th streets, about two blocks from the crime scene. Compared to other parts of the city, the neighborhood is not known as a hotspot for shootings, they said.

According to a dashboard from the City Treasurer’s Office, 24 shooting victims have been recorded in Carroll Park since the beginning of 2024.

One of those incidents occurred just three blocks from where Sunday’s shooting occurred. In June, a 17-year-old was shot multiple times in the 1500 block of North Alden Street.

“It’s usually quiet,” said Tyreek Marshall, who was sweeping up trash Sunday afternoon outside the Masjid Ibn Taymiyyah community center, down the street from where the shooting took place. “Just kids playing outside and people sitting outside on the steps. This never happens.”

There is also an active civic group in the area. The Friends of Carroll Park maintain the park and playground and regularly host community events and park cleanups. Their message focuses on reporting criminal activity.

“We need all the help and attention we can get! It’s our park and we need to protect it!” reads a message posted on their Facebook page the day before the shooting.

Parties trigger serious shootings

This is the third shooting involving multiple participants at a large outdoor event in Philadelphia this year.

The most recent incident before Sunday occurred on July 4 in Kingsessing, when a gunman opened fire at a “pop-up” party, killing 19-year-old Maurice Quann. Police said his party may have become embroiled in a long-running gang feud. Eight other people were also shot – all between the ages of 14 and 24 – and no arrests have yet been made.

Almost three weeks earlier, 17-year-old Isya Stanley was shot dead in Fairmount Park when shots were fired at a party she attended with her boyfriend and about 100 other teenagers. Four other teenagers were also injured.

According to Philadelphia police, there have been 142 murders so far in 2024, 39% fewer than in the same period last year. Before Sunday morning’s shooting, there were 600 victims of gun violence in 2024. Of those, 129 died.

Sunday’s mass shooting came less than a week before a planned rally against gun violence. Led by organizers of the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice Network, gun violence survivors and reform advocates will gather at Salt & Light Church in Kingsessing — less than three miles from Sunday’s deadly street party — to call for the establishment of a trauma rehabilitation center in Philadelphia.

Editor Chris Palmer contributed to this article.