Members of Philadelphia’s Muslim community as well as prominent city leaders addressed the recent shooting at an Eid al-Fitr event that left three people injured as well as a young man and four teenagers in custody.
A press conference took place at the local mosque, Philadelphia Masjid, on 4700 Wyalusing Avenue at 2 p.m. on Friday.
“The press conference will serve as a convening of Philadelphia Muslim leaders, who have come together to address the issue of gun violence in our city, denounce this most recent act of violence, and to engage Muslim youth who are involved in gun violence as both victims and perpetrators,” organizers wrote.
It was a huge show of solidarity as community activists and leaders joined together to say they won't let the violence keep them from their faith and from gathering.
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Imam Kenneth Nuriddin of the Philadelphia Masjid, District Attorney Larry Krasner, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) and Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District) were among the prominent city leaders who attended. Members of several community and Muslim groups also attended the presser, including Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network, Black Muslim Men United, Fathers Day Rally Committee and Muslims 4 Humanity.
"We want to talk about the miracle of the Masjid," Saifullah Muhammad, an event coordinator for the Masjid, said during the press conference. "The landing of the plane. The reason this is a blessing. Because there's no way in the world that we could've woken up the next day and not had one fatality. Not one person died."
Gratitude played a big role in the speeches as most of the nearly 1,000 people present for the event on Tuesday made it out unharmed. There was gratitude that the three people injured in the shooting, as well as the girl hurt in the aftermath, are all stable and expected to recover. There was also gratitude that five people have been arrested for their accused roles in the incident.
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“ April 10th will always be remembered as the day of a miracle because it’s a miracle that we still have all of our loved ones with us," Muhammad said.
The Masjid is planning a community fair at the Square to offer trauma resources and help on April 27th.
The shooting at the West Philly Eid al-Fitr event
The shooting took place Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. after around 1,000 people gathered at the Clara Muhammad Square -- a park on 47th Street and Wyalusing Avenue -- to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holiday, Ramadan. The Philadelphia Masjid -- a local mosque -- is located next to the park.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said officers who were assigned to the event were writing tickets for cars parked at a nearby gas station when they heard about 30 gunshots.
“We’re under tables, we’re ducking behind cars. People were jumping on us. I’m just grabbing children," Faye Ball, who was at the event, said.
The officers observed two groups at the park shooting at each other, according to Bethel.
“I walked through this event and we know that the majority, 99 percent of the individuals at this event, are good people who wanted to have a good time," Bethel said. "And once again we have young people engaging in gunfire who just really destroyed the sanctity of what happened.”
The responding officers then spotted a man -- later identified as 21-year-old Kahbir Oglesby-Hicks -- as well as a 15-year-old boy, 16-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy, running away from the scene, police said.
Those four suspects were stopped by the officers who recovered four weapons, investigators said.
At the same time, a police officer approached another 15-year-old boy who was armed with a gun, according to Bethel.
The officer shot the teen in the left arm and leg, police said. Bethel said it's unknown at this time if the teen had initially fired at the officer but police recovered his weapon.
A man in his early 20s, identified by a family member as Nhashon Tawfiq Richards, was also shot in the stomach while another 15-year-old boy was shot in the finger, investigators said.
Richards and both 15-year-old boys were all taken to the hospital and are all listed in stable condition, according to officials.
“We’re very, very fortunate today that we did not have more individuals shot or anyone killed," Bethel said.
The shooting led to a massive police presence in West Philadelphia. While officers were responding to the shooting, a police vehicle struck a 15-year-old girl, causing her to suffer a fractured leg, according to police. That girl is currently in stable condition.
“Clearly we send our prayers out to her and her family," Bethel said. "That is not our intended purpose and we will make sure we will be following up with her and her family to let them know that.”
Richards' father, Corey Taylor, spoke with reporters after the shooting.
"I’m tired of all the violence and the nonsense that’s going on. We can do better as a people, as all Homo sapiens, human beings," Taylor said. "That we need to do better, love one another and we all can live in prosperity, peace and harmony and stop hating one another. Over what someone else got or dislike over a female or some type of hood affiliation or whatever. It’s stupid. And it’s nonsense. People’s lives are priceless. Appreciate and value your life. I love my son. I love my children. I love society. Anyone can get their life together. Anyone can!"
On Thursday, Philadelphia Police announced that Oglesby-Hicks was charged with violation of the uniform firearms act - no license, evading arrest and other related offenses. They have not yet revealed the charges that the four other suspects face.
Philadelphia Police continue to investigate the shooting. The officer who shot the teen boy is currently on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
If you have any information on the shooting, call 215-686-TIPS.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
Political leaders react to the shooting
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro responded to the shooting on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Councilmember Gauthier also released a statement on the shooting.
“I started my day celebrating Eid with families at the Philadelphia Masjid. Never did I imagine that only a few hours later, I would be rushing back to the scene, this time to comfort victims of a mass shooting," Gauthier wrote. “It is heartbreaking that thousands of my constituents were traumatized during what was supposed to be a holy and joyful day. Police officers were on the scene when the shooting started. I thank PPD for their swift and courageous response, which prevented this mass shooting from being much, much worse."
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker also took to X to share her thoughts on Thursday's shooting saying in part, "Every community of faith has the absolute right and need to worship in peace."
Community reacts to the shooting
Several community members also reacted to the shooting.
"I feel hurt. I feel embarrassed. It's just disgusting to see," Greg Rodriguez, a community member, told NBC10.
Saifullah Muhammad told NBC10 he was inside the mosque preparing food when he heard the shooting.
"When I came upstairs and I'd seen the chaos and the influx of people you know running away from the danger as they should," he said.
Muhammad told NBC10 his community is disheartened by the incident and said the type of violence that occurred Wednesday is a sad reality they're all too familiar with.
"Regrettably, these things are all occurring things," he said. "We're finding it in synagogues. We're finding it in Super Bowl celebrations. I mean it's just everywhere."
Muhammad said he's asking his community and parents to step up to fight the issue of gun violence.
"This is our youth," he said. "You know we have to find a way to communicate with them. Regrettably, today nothing is sacred."
Alem Smallwood, the owner of Tropical Treats, said he was working the event with his staff.
"I didn't see what was going on," he said. "I just heard a bunch of screaming. You know, people running. Guests crashing into the truck."
Smallwood said he hires his workers to keep them off the streets and that his young employees were his first concern.
"It's kind of mixed emotions with it," Smallwood said. "Shocking but not surprising."
On Thursday, anti-violence activists took to the streets to offer resources and guidance to community members impacted by the shooting.
"Our community is constantly traumatized by gun violence every day and what's not happening is enough people talking about trauma and conflict resolution," Sajda Blackwell, a West Philadelphia community activist, told NBC10. "Let's talk about how we prevent this from happening."
The Masjid is also planning a fair at the park on April 27 to offer resources for the community.
