Weekend violence in Philly leaves 4 people dead, 20 others injured

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Three young people were shot Friday afternoon at Dilworth Park after an apparent fight near the ice rink that’s adjacent to City Hall. Two 14-year-olds and a 15-year-old were shot, police said. One of the victims was shot in the face and is listed as in critical condition. Two others are listed as stable.

The shooting was the start of what turned out to be a violent weekend in Philadelphia, with 24 people shot, four of whom were killed.

Monday morning, Mayor Cherelle Parker stood with other city leaders near the site of the Dilworth Park shooting and said the city will continue its efforts to make Philadelphia safer for everyone who lives and works here.

“We will not allow anyone to think that they can just do anything in our city, and there will not be any repercussions,” Parker said. “It won’t go down here in the city of Philadelphia. I need you to know that as your mayor, our police commissioner is empowered to do everything that he possibly can in leading our police department to ensure that we make your public health and safety our number one priority.”

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the department will beef up the police presence outside City Hall to ensure safety.

“Center City is one of the safest areas in the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “We will bolster our resources here as well as across the city to adjust the episode of violence that we saw over the weekend.”

Bethel said top city officials haven’t let up in their efforts to curtail gun violence in the city.

“We are working tirelessly to address the issues. We were on the phone all weekend talking through what was necessary for us to address this violence,” he said.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said the accused shooters would be prosecuted, although he could not say if juveniles were going to face adult charges, unless there was a homicide committed.

“We are here as a united front. We are here because we agree that what happened over this weekend does not define us. And yes, the numbers do support that it does not define us. That we are in a journey. We are in a struggle, but it is a battle. We are winning this year and for the past three years. At the same time, we hold that what happened here is completely unacceptable.”

The city’s public safety director, Adam Geer, said community partners showed up and worked all weekend doing whatever they could to connect victims and their families to services.

Geer said the city would be there any time there is a crime committed to help the victims, and that the gun violence intervention team and social service organizations are all working toward a common goal.

Krasner added that prevention and collaboration are necessary and that public safety improvements are occurring faster in Philadelphia than in other big cities.