Philadelphia Police released surveillance photos of a vehicle believed to be involved in the mass shooting in Kensington over the weekend as well as a separate shooting in the same area last month.
On Saturday at 10:42 p.m., eight men and one woman, ranging in age from 23 to 40, were standing outside a bar along the 800 block of East Allegheny Avenue when gunmen got out of a black vehicle and opened fire on the crowd before getting back into the car and fleeing, police said.
All nine victims were shot and taken to Temple University Hospital. As of Monday, eight of the victims were stable while a ninth victim remains intubated.
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On Monday, police said they obtained surveillance videos of a vehicle they believe was involved in the shooting. The vehicle is described as a 2003-2007 Honda Accord, dark in color with blue tinted after-market headlights and tinted windows.
Police also said the same vehicle was involved in a shooting on October 7 at 1 a.m. along the 3100 block of Kensington Avenue, about two blocks from where Saturday's mass shooting occurred. During the October incident, a 27-year-old man was shot three times in the leg and grazed in the back. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Police believe two suspects were inside the vehicle during both shootings. If you have any information on the vehicle or suspects, call or text 215-686-TIPS (8477). You can also submit an anonymous tip here.
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Following Saturday's shooting, NBC10 spoke with state Rep. Amen Brown, a Democrat who represents West Philadelphia, who said he received a call "from the chief" and got out of bed to get to the scene of the shooting.
Brown laid blame for the city's gun violence on Mayor Jim Kenney, the office of District Attorney Larry Krasner, and "weak City Council members." “Innocent women and children are dying every single day, and it’s got to stop," Brown said, adding that solutions will only be found with legislators working across party lines.
Kenney tweeted he was "appalled and devastated" by the "despicable, brazen act of gun violence." He added "my heart is with the family and loved ones of those injured, and with everyone impacted by this tragedy."
Kenney made further comments on the mass shooting on Monday.
"No one should be able to buy a weapon that shoots 40 or more bullets in one standing without reloading. There’s not a purpose in the world for that weapon other for it to do what it did Saturday and what it does lots of nights and lots of days during the week," Kenney said. "No one should have a gun that shoots more than 40 bullets. If it were a six-shot revolver, damage may have been done but it would’ve been less instantaneous. And there’s no reason in the world that anybody should have this. I wish some of these conversations had come up in this election cycle. We’ve talked about crime generally. We’ve talked about inflation and women’s right to choose but gun control has not been a subject matter of any of these elections and I think that’s really regrettable."
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw also addressed perceptions that crimes in poorer neighborhoods like Kensington take longer to be solved when compared to those in more affluent areas of the city.
“Members of the Kensington community absolutely matter,” Outlaw said. “It is all hands on deck. We are working with every law enforcement entity that we have available at our fingertips to ensure that this does come to closure soon, not only for the victims but for their families and for those who quite frankly, live in that community. So it’s very important for the community to know that this is a priority.”
As of Sunday night, the PPD had recorded at least 449 homicides in the city. At least 421 of those killings were committed with guns, according to a city controller's office tally, which was last updated on Nov. 6.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
