As the nation was still reeling from the slaughter of little kids in a Texas school, more U.S. cities were rocked this weekend by mass shootings—with gunmen opening fire on crowds of people enjoying a night out.
Three people were killed, including a college resident adviser, and another 12 were wounded on South Street in Philadelphia, and three people were killed and 14 were hurt outside a bar in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In Summerton, South Carolina, bullets came crashing into a high-school graduation party, killing one and wounding eight—the youngest just 12 years old.
It remains to be seen if the latest wave of violence—on the heels of the school massacre in Uvalde, a racist supermarket shooting in Buffalo, and a terrifying attack at a Tulsa hospital, among others—will prompt any national gun-control reforms.
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Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner responded to the shooting in his city by calling on Pennsylvania lawmakers to boycott donations from the National Rifle Association.
“It’s time for real action,” he said.
In Philadelphia, the carnage happened just before midnight Saturday on South Street, a nightlife hub crowded with revelers.
A video posted to YouTube appeared to show two men approaching a third in front of a Rita’s Italian Ice location. One of the two men pulled out what appeared to be a weapon before physically attacking the third. Within seconds of the assault, gunshots rang out.
“You can imagine there were hundreds of individuals enjoying South Street, as they do every single weekend, when this shooting broke out,” Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace said.
An officer fired back at one of the suspects, who dropped his weapon and ran, authorities said. Two semiautomatic handguns, one with an extended magazine, were found at the scene.
Police did not release the names of those who died, but they said they were a 27-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man, and a 34-year-old man. The American Federation of Teachers identified one of the victims as Kris Minners, a second grade resident adviser at Girard College, according to WCAU.
The wounded were aged between 17 and 69, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical.
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic terror, with people wetting napkins to help wipe off the blood of others that landed on their clothes. The shooting was a few blocks from the city’s Gayberhood area, which saw larger crowds just before Sunday’s Gay Pride parade.
“Once it started I didn’t think it was going to stop,” Joe Smith, 23, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.“There was guttural screaming.”
In Chattanooga, Police Chief Celeste Murphy said multiple shooters fired into a crowd around 3 a.m. Sunday. Two people were killed by bullets and one was hit by a car while fleeing. Fourteen people were hurt.
Clarendon County, Sheriff Tim Baxley said the Summerton shooting, which happened at 11 p.m. Saturday at a party attended by 150 people, was said to be gang-related. He deplored the uptick in violence throughout the country in a statement on Facebook.
“These acts of violence cannot continue,” Baxley wrote. “Innocent children and adults are suffering the consequences of these acts!”
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said mass shootings will continue to happen unless something is done to address gun violence.
“We cannot accept continued violence as a way of life in our country,” Kenney said in a statement. “Until we address the availability and ease of access to firearms, we will always be fighting an uphill battle.”
