PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials and Democrats in Harrisburg say a gun safety law could have prevented the deadly mass shooting in Kingsessing earlier this month. They’re calling on the GOP-controlled state Senate to pass the legislation after it already cleared the House two months ago.
City and state leaders gathered in Strawberry Mansion Wednesday to rally Republican support for two gun reform bills. One of them, a “red flag” law, would allow authorities to temporarily seize firearms from a person believed to be an immediate threat to themselves or others.
On July 3, police said 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker randomly opened fire in the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood of Kingsessing, killing five in all and wounding four others. Investigators said Carriker was acting more agitated in the days leading up to the shooting and even drafted a will.
Police said he used an AR-15 and a 9mm handgun, the latter of which was an illegal ghost gun.
According to court records, Carriker pleaded guilty in 2005 to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm without a license and was sentenced to three years of probation. Investigators are still trying to determine how he got ahold the firearms that he used on July 3.
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The two gun reform bills passed the state House in May with bipartisan support. State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said the bills are just one step away from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk.
“We want folks to come to Harrisburg. We want folks to call and email and send messages to all senators, but especially remember this: Republicans control the Senate,” said Hughes. “They control the bills that are voted and are not voted. The bills passed the House of Representatives. They’re in the Republicans’ hand. They control this process.”
Other leaders and anti-gun violence advocates in attendance said this legislation could be key to alleviating Philadelphia’s gun violence crisis. District Attorney Larry Krasner believes a red flag law could have prevented incidents like the Kingsesssing mass shooting.
“Kimbrady Carriker carried out his crimes with a ghost gun,” said Krasner, which is a privately made firearm that is untraceable. “He had another ghost gun on his hip and he had very serious behavioral issues that a red flag law would have allowed people to address.
“That is part of the story of why these two laws are so important and why our brothers and sisters in the Republican and Democratic parties need to come together on these bills to prove that we can act in a bipartisan way. We can get some things done.”
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Pennsylvania First Deputy Attorney General James Donahue said the bills would also close the state’s so-called gun show loophole by expanding background checks to include private purchases of long guns.
“We know from the many investigations of our office’s gun violence task force that a huge source of guns for criminals and other people who are not allowed to possess them are gun shows,” he explained. “Gun shows are the go-to marketplace for straw purchases. Closing that loophole will cut off a significant source of supply to those who engage in much of the gun violence in Philadelphia and other cities in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.”
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Senate Republicans said in a statement:
“Increasing safety and security measures across our commonwealth is of chief importance to the Senate Republican Caucus. We remain steadfast in our ongoing support of law enforcement, leadership of school safety initiatives, and examination of ways to provide greater mental and behavioral health support to help protect our communities. Pennsylvania currently has robust laws in place pertaining to guns, which must be enforced in every corner of our commonwealth.”
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