June 17 (UPI) — One person was killed and several others were injured during a shooting at a graduation party in southwest Philadelphia, police said.
The shooting began after 10 p.m. Sunday at a party with about 60 people in attendance at 70th and Buist avenues, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross told media.
At least eight people were shot, he said.
“We are trying to confirm whether or not it is eight or nine,” he said.
Four of the victims were juveniles between 15 and 17 years old, sustaining gunshot wounds mainly to their legs, he said.
Four adults, all in their 20s, were also shot, one of whom was pronounced dead at the hospital, he said.
About eight or nine shots were fired during the shooting, which doesn’t appear to have been the culmination of a fight or confrontation at the party, Ross said.
The investigation is preliminary and not much else is known, including if there was more than one shooter, he said.
The shooting concluded a weekend of violence in the city that saw 16 shootings leave at least four people dead and 26 injured.
Ross said police have increased patrols to combat the problem, but the answer to violence in the city needs to come from not just the police.
“What you got to get at is the hearts and minds of people who want to pull out a gun and fire it at a group of 60 people,” he said. “That’s something that’s even more troubling that you could do that realizing the carnage you could cause that was caused out here tonight.”
