Last updated at 4:10 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As police continue their investigation, they believe five guns were used in the deadly mass shooting on Memorial Day in Fairmount Park. Two people were killed and nine others were wounded, including three juveniles, on Monday evening.
Police said shots were fired around 10:30 p.m. in the Lemon Hill section of the park, near Lemon Hill and Sedgeley drives. A large group of people had gathered for the holiday, starting around 6 p.m. Police said they are searching for at least three shooters behind the incident, which city leaders have called "heinous" and "inhumane."
The two victims killed were identified as 21-year-old Mikhail Bowers and 23-year-old Amya Devlin. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said three teens — a 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 16 and 17 — were among the nine others who were hit and taken to the hospital.
The teens were each hit in their legs. Among the other victims, an 18-year-old woman was shot in the foot, a 19-year-old woman was shot in the hand, and another 19-year-old woman sustained a gunshot wound to the head. A 20-year-old man and a 27-year-old man were both hit in their arms, and a 23-year-old woman suffered a wound to her nose.
Bethel said all of the wounded victims are in stable condition.
At the start of the holiday gathering in the early evening, Bethel said police officers were already at the park. They broke up several different groups prior to the shooting.
“We try to manage the crowds as they unfold, but at the same token, it is a challenge when individuals decide that they’re going to fire into a crowd. That’s something that we can’t anticipate,” Bethel said.
In all, at least 21 shots were fired. Police said the gunfire sounded like a switch, a device that makes guns fire quicker and faster. "It is meant to kill, create carnage and to hit as many people as possible," said Bethel.
Investigators believe at least one of the guns used in the shooting was equipped with a switch -- a device that essentially turns a semiautomatic weapon into a fully automatic firearm. No one was arrested, and no guns were recovered.
A motive was not immediately clear to police. Bethel said investigators will go through video posted on social media before and after the shooting in their search for clues.
Mayor’s impassioned pledge
At a press conference flanked by other city officials Tuesday morning, an angry and determined Mayor Cherelle Parker expressed outrage and heartache.
She said she is “unapologetic” about her priorities in curbing gun violence in the city.
“We will not be held hostage by anyone who decides that they want to get assault-like, war-like weaponry, guns with switches,” she said. “This was wartime ammunition that was just opened on Philadelphians and those who were here in our city.”
Adding to the concern is the Roots Picnic at Fairmount Park this weekend. Bethel said police are developing a plan and will deploy more officers in that area over the next few weeks.