PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Leaders in Philadelphia’s Muslim community joined elected officials Friday afternoon to address gunfire that shattered the peace at an Eid al-Fitr celebration earlier this week.
“We’re concerned about our children, we’re concerned about our elders, we’re concerned about our pioneers,” said Imam Saifullah Muhammad to dozens outside Philadelphia Masjid in West Philly.
On April 10 at 2:30 p.m. nearly 1,000 people were gathered near 47th Street and Lancaster Avenue to celebrate the end of Ramadan when a round of about 30 gunshots were fired. Three people were shot.
Investigators believe two factions of young people had a dispute and exchanged gunfire within Clara Muhammad Square. Officers who ran into the park saw three male suspects and one female suspect running. They stopped those four and recovered four weapons.
At the same time, an officer encountered a 15-year-old boy who had a weapon. The officer fired at the teen, striking him in the shoulder and leg. The officer secured the weapon then took him to a hospital.
Saifullah Muhammad said it’s a miracle everyone still has their loved ones.
“Nobody lost their mother, nobody lost their son, nobody lost their father, nobody lost a child,” he said.
Officials are promising more police patrols in the area and spoke of an upcoming event on April 27 to bring more resources to youth and others in the community.
Imam Kenneth Nuriddin with Philadelphia Masjid says everyone has to come together and fill in the fault lines “so our youth has access to us.”
District Attorney Larry Krasner is asking anyone with more information about the shooting to contact police at 215-686-8477.
“We are gonna have justice here. And that justice will be based on truth. And that truth will come from a lot of people, including some people that were out here when this all went down,” said Krasner.
All five suspects are in custody. Police have identified one of them as 21-year-old Kahbir Oglesby-Hicks of West Philadelphia. His charges include firearm offenses, possession of an instrument of crime, and evading arrest.