Three people injured, five in custody after shootout erupts at Eid al-Fitr event in West Philadelphia

What was supposed to be a joyous Eid al-Fitr celebration in a West Philadelphia park on Wednesday ended in pandemonium after a shootout erupted between two groups of people, leaving three shot, five arrested, and the city’s Muslim community deeply shaken.

About 1,000 people were gathered for a festival at Clara Muhammad Square to dine together and celebrate the end of the Ramadan fast, hosted by the nearby Philadelphia Masjid. About 2:30 p.m., as children played and adults mingled, at least 30 gunshots rang out in the middle of the crowded park — sending hundreds of people running for their lives, abandoning belongings and diving under tables.

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said two groups of young people started shooting at one another for reasons that remain under investigation. Two people were shot in the cross fire — a 22-year-old man shot in the stomach and a 15-year-old boy in the hand — while another teen was shot by a responding officer, Bethel said. All were reported to be in stable condition.

Police officers working security at the event in the Parkside section of the city were ticketing cars nearby when the shots erupted, he said. Rushing toward the sound of gunfire, Bethel said, police apprehended three males and a female who they said were running from the scene, armed with guns.

Those four people — a 21-year-old, two 16-year-olds, and one 15-year-old — were taken into custody.

A responding officer also shot at a 15-year-old holding a gun, striking him in a shoulder and leg, the commissioner said. Bethel said the teen did not shoot at the officer, and declined to share more on the exchange, citing the ongoing investigation.

Responding officers, rushing to the scene, also struck a 15-year-old girl with their police cruiser, Bethel said. She suffered a broken leg, and was being treated at a nearby hospital.

In all, police recovered five guns at the scene — four handguns and one rifle, according to two police sources with knowledge of the case. Bethel blamed the culture of youth gun violence for disrupting an otherwise peaceful celebration, and said the groups were not representative of the eventgoers as a whole.

“Ninety-nine percent of the individuals at this event are good people who wanted to have a good time,” he said. “And once again, we have young people engaging in gunfire who just really destroyed the sanctity of what happened.”

News of the shooting spread quickly through Philadelphia’s Muslim community, whose members have been on high alert in recent months amid an uptick in Islamophobic incidents around the region.

Signs of the chaos lingered around the park in the hours after the shooting. Containers of food, baby strollers, prayer rugs, and clothes lay abandoned on the sidewalk. Trash cans had been knocked over near the park playground, which was littered with water bottles and personal belongings left behind by a fleeing crowd.

“We’re frustrated that this is what became of a beautiful day,” said Dwight Olds, program director for the Institute for the Development of African American Youth.

”You shot up a day of prayer,” said Don Jones, an antiviolence advocate and a leader of Philly’s Muslim community. “There were children here. This is not acceptable in our communities.”

Just last week, he said, about 20 local imams met with city leaders about coming together as a Muslim community to denounce violence. The group had scheduled an event for Friday morning outside City Hall to make that stance public.

Haniyahh Dwight, 42, said she came to Clara Muhammad Square from her home in Chester to celebrate Eid at one of the largest events in the area — “one of the greatest gatherings” for the festival after Ramadan, she said.

She was waiting in line for food when, she said, she heard rapid pops. Everyone started fleeing. Dwight said she looked up to see people falling and pushing past one another.

”This is an event centered around peace,” she said. “I just don’t understand.”

People dove under tables, dropped onto the ground, and crouched behind trees and trash cans.

“Where’s my child?” a mother screamed, according to a witness.

Nearby schools were placed on lockdown and police organized a parent-child reunification area to help connect people who scattered when the gunfire erupted.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker came to the scene and said her administration would be providing trauma support services to those affected by the shooting, said Bethel.

On Wednesday night, Parker posted a statement on social media: “In the midst of Eid al-Fitr, a Holy Day of celebration, our city’s Muslim community experienced a sacrilegious act of gun violence today in a West Philadelphia park. Every community of faith has the absolute right and need to worship in peace.”

Parker added: “We stand united with the Muslim community, and vow to work together to restore balance and light to our communities.”

Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia, lamented the violence that erupted outside one of the largest mosques in the city.

“It’s a tragedy regardless whatever the root cause might be,” he said. “Gun violence impacts all communities in Philadelphia, especially the Muslim American community.”

City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents parts of West Philadelphia, said in a statement Wednesday that the shooting was “heartbreaking” and called on lawmakers in Harrisburg and Washington to pass gun safety laws “that will stem the flow of guns into our neighborhoods.”

The shock had barely settled Wednesday evening as peoplebegan tending to the damage.

Some returned to the park to search for their belongings. A pile of unclaimed phones, purses, and other items piled up inside the masjid and remained into the evening.

Meanwhile, young people and adults cleaned up the trash and belongings left behind: shoes, prayer rugs, children’s toys. Inside the park, toppled lawn chairs, forgotten coolers, and plates of uneaten food remained into the evening — all strewn about as though a tornado had come through.

Although it could take hours before the park would be fully cleaned, it could take much longer for the community to fully absorb the tragedy.

“It was so beautiful. So warm. So enduring,” a woman who asked not to be identified for safety reasons said of the afternoon. “This is where we come to eat, to celebrate. For God.”

“It became a different scene from the love and gentleness,” she added. “Screaming. Crying. People falling. People shot.”

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.