Four people have been killed and two children wounded after a man wearing a bullet-proof vest opened fire in the US city of Philadelphia.
The suspected attacker, a 40-year-old man who is now in custody, was carrying a rifle, a handgun, a police scanner and multiple rounds of ammunition.
He has no known connection to the victims and, with no clear motive, the shooting appeared to be random.
Police were called to the city’s south-western Kingsessing area on Monday.
“When officers responded, they did identify and find some gunshot victims,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. “As they were scooping up the victims and preparing them for transport to hospital, they also heard multiple gunshots.”
Officers then chased the suspect on foot while gunfire continued to ring out, damaging parked cars nearby.
“At this point, all we know is that this person decided to leave their home and target individuals,” Commissioner Outlaw said, adding that she had “absolutely no idea why this happened”.
She said there could have been more victims had it not been for the officers’ actions.
Dozens of shell casings were found across a large area of around eight blocks, which has since been cordoned off by police.
The four people killed were all men aged between 20 and 59. The two injured children, aged two and 13, were taken to hospital, but are in a stable condition.
Another person has also been arrested and is believed to have “acquired a gun somehow… and returned fire in the direction of the shooter”, the commissioner said.
It is not clear whether that person has a connection to the gunman.
The attack on the eve of Independence Day came just a day after two people died and 28 were injured – about half of them children – in a shooting in Baltimore, Maryland.
Police there are still searching for multiple suspects who opened fire during an annual community gathering.
BBC
