A shooting in the city of Philadelphia (USA), in the northeast of the country, this Monday left four dead and at least eight injured, according to local media reports. The suspect, a man armed with a rifle and a pistol and dressed in a bulletproof vest, has already been detained by authorities, the media reported.
Among the victims of the attack are at least two minors, ages 2 and 13, hospitalized after being injured. The deceased are men between the ages of 20 and 59, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw explained.
A city police officer heard the shooting, which took place southwest of the city, and found at least one victim at the scene. Philadelphia police stations also received several calls reporting a man who was shooting in the street, armed with a rifle.
The 40-year-old man was intercepted and detained by the agents who went to the area, in the Kingssessing neighborhood, and also found two firearms in different places near where the victims were. "He was actively shooting while we were chasing him," Outlaw explained.
"We have absolutely no idea what happened," Outlaw admitted, adding that police are trying to identify the suspect. Police also arrested a second person who allegedly shot himself with the alleged killer.
According to the Gun Violence archive, in 2023 there have been 341 mass shootings in the United States. Gun Violence is a non-profit incident tracking organization that defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people, other than the shooter, are shot.
Last year, at least 44,357 people were shot to death in the United States, more than half of them by suicide. Last weekend, two people were killed and 28 wounded in a shooting at a block party in Baltimore, on the East Coast.
