04 July 2023 , 17:00
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Police in Philadelphia have identified the five people killed in Monday's mass shooting in Kingsessing
The victims are 20-year-old Lashyd Merritt, 29-year-old Dymir Stanton, 59-year-old Ralph Moralis, 15-year-old boy Daujan Brown and 31-year-old Joseph Wamah, Jr.
Suspect Kimbrady Carriker, 40, is now in police custody after he was arrested in connection with the killings in the Kingsessing area of the Pennsylvania city last night.
Local reports say Cariker was "mumbling most of the night" and then "began to communicate with authorities.."
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tina Rosette, 49, lived with the suspect for around a year.
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She reportedly described him as “really smart, intelligent, creative."
"I didn’t even know he had a gun," she added, saying she was shocked that Carriker was accused of the crime.
Police were called last night when a heavily armed gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire (TRACIE VAN AUKEN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"Carriker did have "an aggressive approach to some things in life," she claimed, saying he taught young people to fight out of self-defence but did not tell them how to stop.
Police were called last night when a heavily armed gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia.
The suspect reportedly surrendered to police.
Police claim the alleged shooter was arrested wearing a bulletproof vest with multiple magazines, and was carrying a scanner and an AR-style rifle and handgun.
Mayor Jim Kenney told local news that the dealer who sold the suspect the guns "should be sued out of business."
"Where does a person like this get a semiautomatic handgun? Where does a person like this buy a Kevlar vest?" Kenney asked in a blistering commentary.
"This country needs to reexamine its conscience when it comes to Congress or the state legislature and try to figure out how we get these guns out of these people's hands."
According to police, at some point, another person got a gun and returned fire in the direction of the suspect. That person was taken into custody, but it's unclear what their connection to the alleged shooter is.
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Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference: "Thank God our officers were on the scene and responded as quickly as they did. I can’t even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown, in addition to the restraint that was shown here."
Officers were flagged down at about 8:30 p.m., and multiple calls of shots fired came in from Kingsessing. Police found some gunshot victims, and as they were attending to them, they heard more gunfire, Outlaw said.
Police later told Fox 29 that a fifth victim was found. He was chased into his home and shot to death. Bullet casings were found outside the home.
The shootings took place over several city blocks in the southwestern neighbourhood of Kingsessing.
Three of the dead were 20 to 59 years old, while the fourth, who had not yet been identified, was estimated to be between 16 and 21. The victim found in his home was 31 years old. All were male.