Two brothers among those killed in West Philly mass shooting after a fight turned into a gun battle, police said
More than 100 people were gathered in Carroll Park in West Philadelphia when a group of men got into a fight, and multiple people pulled guns.
The mass shooting in West Philadelphia that left three men dead — including two brothers — and six others injured early Sunday morning was the result of an argument-turned-gun fight after multiple people pulled weapons, police said Monday.
More than 100 people were gathered for a cookout on the 1200 block of North Alden Street in the Carroll Park section of the city around 2 a.m. when a group of men got into an argument that turned physical, said Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel.
Quickly, he said, at least three people drew guns and started shooting.
“This was a gun battle,” Bethel said. “This was not an individual who came up and randomly shot down the block.”
More than 30 bullets, fired from three different guns, whizzed through the crowd, striking nine people, police said. Three men were killed: Akil Jones, 33; Rashie Jones, 29; and Sekayi Robinson, 23.
The Joneses were brothers, police said. Their family, gathered outside their Kingsessing home on Monday, declined to speak as they processed the compounding deaths and grief.
Robinson’s family could not immediately be reached.
The six people who survived, ages 26 to 30, remained in stable condition Monday, police said. Among those shot was a 26-year-old woman struck in the buttocks and a 28-year-old man shot three times throughout his body.
Bethel declined to say whether officials believe any of the victims fired a weapon. Three guns were recovered at the scene, he said. No arrests have been made.
Video footage of the shooting, captured by a resident’s Ring camera and reviewed by The Inquirer, showed a few men seated on the steps of a rowhouse, as people mingled in the street and listened to music. Then, suddenly, the men started to fight, rolling onto the sidewalk.
Within seconds, shots were fired. Someone appeared to shoot down the block as people fled. Over the course of a minute, there were various breaks in gunfire, before more rounds were fired down the street.
The shooting is the seventh act of gun violence with five or more victims so far this year in Philadelphia, and the fourth within just the last five weeks. Those previous shootings include five teens shot in Fairmount and seven injured in North Philly in June. Then, on July Fourth, nine people were shot at a pop-up party in Kingsessing.
Bethel spoke from the scene of the shooting on Monday alongside Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and dozens of city leaders, law enforcement officials, and neighborhood residents. The city, Bethel said, has “a gun problem.” Too often, he and Parker said, mundane arguments and fistfights turn deadly, in part, due to widespread gun ownership.
“We used to fight,” Bethel said. “Now we pull out weapons.”
The block party Sunday night was not registered with the city, Parker said.
Philadelphians should continue to gather with community, she said, but she implored residents to apply for block party permits so police can plan enforcement accordingly. (The city has denied permits for block parties in certain neighborhoods in recent years due to safety concerns.)
“We can’t make good on our promise to you if you won’t follow the process that’s established,” she said, referencing her commitment to public safety.
The shooting took place on what residents described as a normally quiet block in the Carroll Park neighborhood, a section of West Philadelphia that officials said does not typically see high rates of violence.
This “is not and will never be the story of Carroll Park,” said State Rep. Morgan Cephas, a Democrat who represents the area.
Cheryl Moore, who lived next to the Jones family on 57th Street for 43 years, said she remembers Akil and Rashie’s mother working hard to corral her six sons.
”If we needed help, they were there,” Moore said of the family, recounting the time the boys built a doghouse for her Alaskan husky, Obama. The family moved away about 10 years ago, she said.
Jermaine Butts, 42, an Alden Street resident of about six years, said the block is dotted with children and families. Over the last month, he said, kids have run through the street playing and dousing each other with Super Soakers and water guns.
But he worried as he watched from his window as the party grew larger as the night went on.
“When you have young people in the area drinking and doing things, something’s gonna happen,” he said.
Officials on Monday said victims services groups had connected with families and residents and were providing support. Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. dispersed pamphlets about how people could submit tips about crimes discreetly.
But the central message from leaders was that, despite gunfire erupting at recent parties, Philadelphians should not be afraid to come together.
“Gather,” Parker said. “But do it right.”
Graphics Editor John Duchneskie contributed to this article.