PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities say two suspects have been arrested in connection with Saturday's deadly mass shooting, where three people were killed and 11 others were shot after gunfire erupted near Fourth and South streets around 11:30 p.m.
Philadelphia police say 18-year-old Quran Garner is in custody. He faces charges of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with evidence, conspiracy, possession of an instrument in a crime, and gun offenses.
U.S. Marshals took another person into custody, Rashaan Vereen. He is expected to be charged with attempted murder and other offenses.
Officials are still investigating additional suspects. Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said although there are no murder charges at this time, the investigation is still ongoing. Police said they are trying to identify at least two more shooters.
Pescatore laid out the narrative of how law enforcement believe the altercation unfolded.
She said Micah Towns passed Gregory Jackson on South Street and exchanged words. Jackson threw a punch, and then he and a second unidentified man continued to attack Towns. Garner was apparently with Towns at the time.
According to Pescatore, both Jackson and Towns drew guns. She said Jackson shot first at Towns, who then responded and fired back, killing Jackson, who was 34 years old.
Towns has not been charged in this case, as District Attorney Larry Krasner described his action as "self-defense." Both Jackson and Towns had licenses to carry, according to officials.
Related Jawncast: The unanswered questions from the South Street mass shooting.
Towns was shot in the chest and remained in critical condition Monday afternoon.
Pescatore said Garner ran off but came back near American and South streets, where he fired a ghost gun with an extended magazine several times down the street.
"It was at that point that Philadelphia police began to shoot after Quran Garner, who pulled a gun, has the gun out and pulled it in their direction," said Pescatore.
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Police shot Garner, injuring his hand. He ran around the corner and encountered police who were investigating another incident. Officers took him in custody and brought him to a hospital to recover from his injuries.
The two other fatal victims were bystanders.
Police identified all three victims as Jackson, 25-year-old Alexis Quinn, and 22-year-old Kristopher Minners.
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Krasner said there were at least four weapons involved — three 9 mm handguns and a 40 caliber gun — but he said there could be more.
“This is in fact a very active investigation and hour by hour we are finding out more information,” he added.
Anyone with additional information on the case is asked to call the Homicide unit at 215-686-3334. There is a $20,000 reward.
‘Out of control’
A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and notes sits at the corner of Third and South streets Monday morning. One letter reads, “I am sorry your life ended here and I am praying for your families and gun policy CHANGE!”
Business owners and residents say the lawlessness that goes on in the area is only getting worse. Mohan Parmar, owner of Indian Kitchen Lavash near Third and South, said something needs to be done to curb the increased crime in the area — and fast.
“This is unusual, yes,” he said of the mass shooting, “but it has been going on for a while. I think the city and the South Street Headhouse District as well as the police, they are trying very hard. But these kids aren’t afraid of anything. People are not afraid of the police. Most of the time I felt safe, but now I feel very awkward to it. I don’t know how we are going to continue our business like that.”
Ivy Cheng, who owns Jade Fashion Boutique located just east of Third Street on South Street, is thinking about moving.
“Most of the businesses here, they need to close early because it’s a lot of trouble,” she said.
Cheng has a gate protecting her storefront, which she pulled down around 6:30 p.m. Monday evening.
Outside of her boutique, just steps from the memorial, Khalif Mujahid Ali joined a group of people in the street demanding action and change when it comes to gun violence.
“We need the people out here in the streets,” he said. “Stop talking about you working with this gun violence from a distance. If you’re not working out here, this is why the problems are happening.”
George Macon from Southwest Philly lost a friend in the shooting.
“This is the question that I ask the city, I ask the mayor, and I ask the commissioner: How, all of a sudden, don’t you have police down here in detail in every corner, on the horses and everything like you used to?” Macon asked. “There were never shootings like this. There were never shootings of this magnitude. You had fights and riots. But shootings? No.”
Larry Sechuk has lived in the neighborhood for more than 40 years. In recent years, he’s seen the area turn into mayhem.
“If you’re a resident, you don’t come up here after 8 o’clock at night because … it kind of turns into Thunderdome,” he said. “The people that are on the street, it’s crazy. It’s not safe.
“The problem is, it doesn’t stay on South Street. It spills over south and it spills over north into those communities.”
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Many others said that violent crime is becoming commonplace, and leaders and community members need to find solutions.
Krasner made his usual pitch for more gun laws at his Monday press conference, but he refused to answer questions about the high rate of gun charges that the office dismisses, or any questions related to the South Street incident, supposedly in deference to the family of a murder victim — people he had invited to the conference to boast about a guilty verdict in that case. Frustrated reporters then got heated with the DA.
“Enough, enough,” he told them. “I asked you to respect this family and your tactics are inappropriate.”