PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A holiday cookout in West Philadelphia turned deadly when more than 100 shots rang out Sunday night. Two men were killed, including the store owner who organized the party. A teen girl was also wounded.
Dozens of yellow evidence markers, each one signifying a fired bullet, littered 60th Street, between Walnut and Sansom streets, early Monday morning. There were so many shots fired that investigators had to make some out of cardboard.
Spent casings were splattered all over the street, and the evening was marked by bullet holes in buildings and parked cars. Remnants of the party were strewn about by morning — a grill, a table full of food and drinks, a bean bag toss on the sidewalk.
The Fourth of July cookout was organized by 23-year-old Sircarr Johnson Jr., according to his father. Johnson Jr. owned a clothing store on the block and advertised the party on the store’s Instagram page. The event was supposed to celebrate Independence Day and the store’s success.
Around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, police say shots were fired just as fireworks were going off in the middle of the street.
“When you got fireworks and gunshots at the same time, you have no idea that gunshots are going on until you see people running,” said Sircarr Johnson Sr. “I turn around and start moving too, and my son fell on me.”
Johnson Jr. was taken to the hospital, where he died. Police say a 22-year-old man was also killed and a 16-year-old girl was shot multiple times. She is expected to recover.
“My son is … 10 times better than the person I was,” added Johnson Sr. “He loved me to death and I love him to death. He made me better.
“He’s everything I wish I would have been.”
Police have not determined a motive or who pulled the trigger. No one has been arrested.
Including this shooting, 11 people were shot and four were killed across Philadelphia between 10 p.m. Sunday and 4:30 a.m. Monday.