Six people—including four teenagers—were shot at a graduation party in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sunday. One adult died from their injuries, police said. The other wounded adult is expected to recover after the ordeal, which took place on the 6900 block of Reed Place in Southwest Philadelphia.
Police identified the deceased man as Isiaka Meite, 24, in a statement shared with Newsweek Monday morning. Meite died after being shot in the back.
The four teens, aged between 15 and 17, were shot in the legs, Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross initially told reporters late Sunday night.
The statement revealed two black males and one black female, all aged 16, had been shot in the leg. A 15-year-old black male was shot in the foot.
Ross stated that multiple adults had been shot in “various parts” of their bodies, per CBS Philly. The police statement clarified one black man aged 24 was shot in the right elbow.
Initial reports suggested eight or nine shots were fired in total. “Probably people were clustered close together, because it appears the shooter or shooters struck at least one person with every round,” the commissioner said. The number of shooters involved was not immediately clear.
Preliminary evidence did not suggest a fight instigated the shooting, Ross told reporters. Investigators did not know how the perpetrator, or perpetrators, left the scene. “Hopefully there will be some cameras, or some of the people out here will be able to provide some more information,” he said.
In the Monday statement, police said they are searching for a suspect who “shot indiscriminately into the crowd.”
Police have not recovered a weapon from the scene and have not yet arrested any suspects. The investigation is ongoing.
It has been a particularly violent weekend for Philadelphia. At least 15 other shootings have taken place since Friday, CBS Philly reported. Two dozen victims were injured or killed in the incidents, including a 16-year-old girl who was shot in the arm and a mother of five who was shot in the head and killed at a deli.
April Coleman, 38, will be “greatly missed,” her friend Tanaya Kinard said. “It’s just a sad thing, beautiful person.”
Coleman’s friend Diane Washington added. “She didn’t really deserve that. It’s just really sad, just so much is going on with people. Their anger is so much in their head, it’s just sad.”
When asked what police are doing to combat violence in Philadelphia, Ross said: “We’re putting out additional people… We’re ramping up our patrols across the city.”
When it comes to “deeply disturbing” incidents like the graduation party shooting, he said that question should be asked of others as well as of police. “If you only continue to ask us, we’re never going to solve this issue. I mean, what you’ve got to get at is the hearts and minds of people who want to pull out a gun and fire at a group of sixty people. Incidents…like these ones are ones where we’re going to need help.”
This article has been updated with further information from Philadelphia police. The initial injured figure has been revised down from seven people, according to new police information.
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