‘We don’t normalize this behavior.’ Philly police release video of shooter in Finley rec center shooting, as officials vow justice.
Residents of the East Mount Airy neighborhood, where three teens were shot at Finley Recreation Center, packed the center's auditorium to voice their concerns about violence.
It was a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon when Susanne Johnson heard gunshots ring out outside her East Mount Airy home, cutting through the sounds of children playing and birds chirping on the first 80-degree day of the year.
Johnson, 40, has lived in her house on East Sharpnack Street for three years, steps away from the Finley Recreation Center, a sprawling complex with a basketball court, tennis courts, and a baseball diamond that draws children from across the city. The gunfire shocked Johnson, a nurse, and was followed by a crowd of mostly young people running across the baseball field in a panic, she said.
“I was home when I heard the gunfire and it was a very jarring experience,” she said in an interview. “To watch all these people come running out of a playground on a beautiful Saturday is very scary.”
The shooting left three teens injured, police said, after an argument between two feuding groups of young people gathered at the recreation center erupted into gunfire. Two of the teens were taken to a local hospital, where they were treated before being released, police said. The third teen is still hospitalized, police said.
On Tuesday night, at the same recreation center where gunfire sent the crowd of young people scrambling for safety, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, joined by city, state, and law enforcement officials, held a community meeting to allay residents’ concerns and answer their questions.
The meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd, with many of the residents who have lived in the neighborhood for decades worried about safety and asking officials for help.
The feud that sparked the gunfire happened after a celebration at the center marking the end of Women’s History Month, said Crystal Jacobs Shipman, president of the center’s advisory council.
After the event ended, about 10 young people who gathered there went outside to play, she said, and soon, shots rang out.
At least 17 shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting, between the basketball courts and the baseball field, said Capt. Stuart McCoullum of the 14th Police District.
Police are still investigating and do not know what sparked the argument that led to the shooting, he said, adding that many of the young people at the center that day appeared to be from outside the neighborhood.
While police work to solve the crime, he said, a patrol vehicle will be stationed outside the center.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said that there were multiple cameras at the complex and that it was only a matter of time before police caught the shooter.
“We don’t normalize this behavior,” he said.
The mayor, for her part, said the city has “zero tolerance” for gun violence and vowed to work with police to find those responsible for the shooting.
“I’m unapologetic about committing to you that the public safety and health of the city of Philadelphia has to be my number one priority,” she said. “The comprehensive approach is prevention, intervention, and enforcement.”
Residents, many whose families have lived in the neighborhood for generations, asked for accountability from parents of children who may have been involved in the shooting.
And police, who have released surveillance footage of the shooting, asked the public for help in identifying the gunman seen in the video. They also asked residents who have additional surveillance footage to contact them.
The shooting at the rec center was one of a spate of shootings in the last few days that have left six teens injured and one killed.
On Friday night, Jada Gray, 17, was shot and killed in Southwest Philadelphia during what police say was an attempted robbery.
Investigators believe Gray was meeting someone to buy a gun in the alleyway that night when the seller decided to try to rob her of her cash, then shot her in the chest, said a law enforcement source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Detectives suspect Gray had been selling weed in the area because her backpack, which was recovered at the scene, had nearly four ounces of marijuana inside, along with a scale, the source said.
And on Tuesday, as the community meeting was underway at the rec center, an 18-year-old was shot several times in the upper body outside the Lonnie Young Recreation Center in East Germantown, less than 10 minutes away, police said.
The man, whom police did not identify, was in critical condition Wednesday, they said.
Inquirer staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.