The shooter accused of gunning down five people in southwest Philadelphia on Monday night in a seemingly random rampage later claimed he only intended to lend a hand to cops in tackling gun violence, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday.
After first commending officers for arresting him, Kimbrady Carriker, 40, told cops his gunfire was meant to help police address the city’s gun violence crisis because “all these guys are out there killing people,” sources told the Inquirer.
Wielding an AR-15 style assault rifle and a handgun, Carriker wore a bullet-proof vest and ski mask as he shot “aimlessly” at people on the street or in their car across multiple blocks in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood, authorities said. The 40-year-old allegedly carried multiple magazines of ammunition and a police scanner before he was arrested after an on-foot chase.
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Once pulled in for questioning, Carriker told detectives that Yahweh, a Hebrew name for God, would send more people to help, the sources told the Inquirer—but he reportedly didn’t elaborate when asked for more information.
Carriker was hit with a slew of charges at his arraignment on Wednesday, totaling more than 30 counts for murder, attempted murder, and illegal gun possession, among other offenses. Court records show he is being held without bail.
The victims have been identified by police as Daujan Brown, 15, Lashyd Merritt, 20, Dymir Stanton, 29, Joseph Wamah Jr., 31, and Ralph Moralis, 59. Carriker also allegedly wounded a 2-year-old and 13-year-old child during his spree, and two others were hurt from broken glass shards.
A former roommate of Carriker, Tina Rosette, 49, was shocked to hear the news but admitted to the Inquirer that Carriker had “an aggressive approach to some things in life.” Her 24-year-old daughter, Cianni Rosette, said he “was trying to get me comfortable around guns and stuff like that” and made “pushy” romantic advances toward her.
CNN reported that Carriker had a previous gun conviction and had a “ghost gun,” or an untraceable and self-assembled firearm, the night of the shooting.
Photos and posts on his since-removed Facebook page showed Carriker sharing videos of guns, complaining that President Joe Biden will revoke Second Amendment rights, expressing support for Donald Trump, and sharing nonsensical Biblical references, Heavy reported. One post also featured a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I told you he wanted your rights. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN SAYS BIDEN,” Carriker wrote on Facebook, according to Heavy, alongside a video of Biden titled “Biden turns red coat, in latest gun grabbing speech.”
Prominent members of the far-right, however, seized on an image on Carriker’s page showing him wearing long braids and feminine clothing. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweeted an article from a conservative conspiracy blog with the caption, “Another trans shooter.”
According to CNN, the district attorney’s office initially referred to the suspect using they/them pronouns but switched to referring to the suspect as male.
Asa Khalif, a member of the office’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, addressed the “nasty” right-wing outrage at a Wednesday press conference.
“The language spewed out by the conservative press is violent and is dangerous and is targeting trans women of color,” Khalif said. “We have our trans women, and our trans men, living in these communities, working, thriving in the communities. They are not killers, they are the most vulnerable to violence.”
“We will not allow conservative bigots to use that type of language to attack trans people,” he added.
Khalif confirmed Carriker identified himself as male, not trans. “That’s the language that will be used until further developments, if they change,” he said.
Carriker’s next court appearance is set for July 24.
