5 people arrested after shooting in West Philadelphia
Apr 10, 2024, 1:53 PM | Updated: 3:06 pm
Police are seen at the scene of a shooting on April 10, in Philadelphia. (WPVI via CNN Newsource)
(WPVI via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) —Five people have been arrested and multiple firearms have been recovered after a Wednesday afternoon shooting in West Philadelphia, police say.
The shooting unfolded at roughly 2:30 p.m. at a park where about 1,000 people had gathered for a celebration, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said during a news conference.
At some point, a “large volume of gunfire” began, Bethel said. Police believe two groups in the park started exchanging gunfire. Officers stopped three males and one female suspect who were running, and recovered four weapons, Bethel said.
Another officer engaged with a 15-year-old male suspect, firing and striking the teen in his shoulder and leg, and recovered a weapon from him, the commissioner said. That suspect was then transferred to the hospital.
One person was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his stomach, Bethel said. Another juvenile went to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his hands, Bethel said.
A law enforcement source told CNN earlier reports of a shooting prompted a police response to the Clara Muhammad Square.
A woman who says she was attending a nearby event for Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic religious celebration marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, said she was enjoying time with her family when she heard shots. Everyone around her began running, screaming, and getting on the ground and as she ran, she frantically searched for her son, then her mom, brothers, and grandmother.
“We were just running and running and one of my family members got shot in the stomach,” Najah Bey told CNN affiliate WPVI, later sharing it was her cousin who was wounded.
She said “hundreds” of people had been attending the event.
“We don’t know who was shooting, where the shots came from, but people started shooting and everyone just started running. You have babies, elderly people, everybody was just there to enjoy themselves, and now we end up at the emergency room.”
“You can’t even have a celebration without having to worry about somebody getting shot,” Bey added.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the shooting reports and is on the scene, a spokesperson said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
