Last updated: 1 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After an unusually violent weekend in Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker appeared with law enforcement officials Monday to assure residents and visitors that they are working on preventing an increase in incidents of violence.
In all, 24 people were shot in 11 separate shootings over the weekend — four of them killed.
The first incident, a triple shooting, happened Friday afternoon near the Dilworth Park ice skating rink. A fight broke out, shots were fired, and three teens were hit, police said.
A 14-year-old boy was shot in the face and was described as being in extremely critical condition, according to investigators. Another 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old were hit but are expected to physically recover.
Police arrested a 14-year-old boy and he will face charges as an adult, officials said. Police are also searching for others who were involved.
Hours later, on Hansberry Street in Germantown, there was another triple shooting. A man was killed and two other victims in their 20s were left in stable condition, police said.
Saturday evening, a man in his 20s was killed in a double shooting in West Philly. Then, early Sunday morning, there was yet another triple shooting. A 48-year-old man was killed and two others were wounded at a sports bar at 29th Street and Chalmers Avenue in North Philadelphia. About four hours later, five men were shot, one of them fatally, at D Street and Wyoming Avenue in Feltonville.
The deadly weekend comes amid significant progress in Philadelphia’s fight against gun violence. As of Sunday night, the city has reported 245 total homicides this year — a 40% drop compared to the same time a year ago, according to data from the Philadelphia Police Department.
“Yes, you do know what the stats are,” the mayor said Monday in Dilworth Park, near the spot where three teens were wounded Friday. “They affirm that even despite this weekend’s gun violence, we are making some progress. But it’s not enough.
“As I have said before, every shooting and homicide in Philadelphia personally pains me,” Parker said, “because every homicide victim was somebody’s son, brother, father, uncle, daughter, sister, mother. These are human beings that we are talking about and not statistics.”
Parker also lamented the damage — beyond physical injuries — that Friday’s triple shooting had on the mood so arduously created by the holiday features outside City Hall.
“Commerce was moving and people were walking. They’re saying they’re beginning to feel good about their city again. We won’t let anyone steal that joy away from us. This was an isolated incident.”
That was the consensus message from the police commissioner, district attorney and Public Safety Chief Adam Geer — this past weekend won’t define us. Geer said the city is responding to each of the 11 separate incidents.
“We have a rapid response unit that operates out of the Office of Safe Neighborhoods in the Office of Public Safety. We have PPD assistance officers out, community responders, victim advocate responders,” he said.