South Philly shooting leaves 3 dead and 9 wounded; more than 100 shots were fired, source says

Three young men were killed and nine people were wounded after more than 110 bullets were fired into a crowded block party in South Philadelphia early Monday morning, police said.

Dozens of young people had gathered on the 1500 block of South Etting Street on Sunday night for the second time in as many days. After friends and family had come to the area Saturday night for a memorial for four young men who had been shot and killed in recent years, people returned Sunday to continue the festivities, according to neighbors and law enforcement sources.

But suddenly, just before 1 a.m. Monday, gunfire erupted on the small block lined with rowhouses, sending teenagers and others running in a panic, diving onto porches and inside homes. Video from the scene shared online showed people piling on top of one another and taking cover — while at least six people who were armed stood up and fired their guns indiscriminately down the block toward the sound of gunfire. The video showed at least one gunman who appeared to have a switch on his gun, a device that allows a firearm to shoot at a faster rate. The gun was firing so quickly he appeared to struggle to maintain control of it.

Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said in a statement to The Inquirer that the shooting in the early hours of the day Monday "will not define Grays Ferry, nor Philadelphia."

"Together — with urgency, purpose, and unity — we will protect our neighbors and build safer futures for all of our communities," said Johnson, who represents the 1500 block of South Etting Street where the shooting took place, leaving three dead and nine injured.

Johnson is a staunch gun violence prevention advocate and is the founding chair of City Council's Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention. He said in his statement Monday that gun violence remains a top public safety crisis and will work with the Philadelphia Police Department, District Attorney's Office, Mayor's office and public safety and community organizations "to ensure these tragedies stop citywide."

The 12 victims in the South Etting Street shooting represent the second-highest total in a single incident, surpassed only by the South Street shootout in June 2022 with 15 victims, according to a police database of shootings since 2015.

The third-highest total in the past decade also occurred this year on Memorial Day with 11 people being shot in the Lemon Hill area of Fairmount Park.

Since 2015, there have been 13 incidents in which eight or more people have been shot.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters at a news conference Monday that almost 140 pieces of ballistic evidence have been recovered and investigators believe a gun with a switch was involved in the shooting.

A switch will typically allow a weapon to fire off more rounds of gunfire and, Bethel said, "has been a significant issue for us."

Bethel said PPD has "significant leads in that investigation based on the information we're gathering now" and noted that July 4 weekends across the country, but especially in urban areas, can be challenging for law enforcement.

A young father who was paralyzed in a shooting in 2018, and who had become an advocate for survivors of gun violence, was among those killed early Monday after gunfire erupted during a block party in South Philadelphia, his family said.

Azir Harris, 24, had visited the 1500 block of South Etting Street Sunday night for a cookout, where a few dozen young people were enjoying music, food, and drinks. Dozens of people had gathered on the block the night before for a memorial for four young men who had been shot and killed in recent years, and the crowds returned Sunday evening to continue the festivities, according to community members and law enforcement sources.

But shortly before 1 a.m., police said, gunfire erupted and more than 100 bullets were fired down the crowded block.

More than 100 shots were fired on the 1500 block of Etting Street early Monday morning, leaving three dead and nine wounded, according to a law enforcement source.

Detectives recovered 112 fired cartridge casings up and down the South Philadelphia block, said the source — 84 casings from a 9mm handgun, 20 casings from a .40-caliber gun, seven from a .45-caliber gun, and one from a 10mm gun.

Dozens of people had gathered on the block Sunday night for a party, which drew young people from neighborhoods across the city. Suddenly, just before 1 a.m., shots erupted — sending people fleeing down the block, diving into porches and inside homes.

As a crime scene cleanup worker wearing a hazmat suit scrubbed blood off the sidewalk, and another did the same on the front porch of a house steps away, residents of the narrow block of Etting Street where three people were killed and nine others were injured early Monday morning cleaned up the refuse left over from the large party that erupted into violence on their own.

The garbage bags overflowed throughout the block, as residents swept the sidewalks as best they could. Remnants of the late night party were strewn across the block, including empty bottles of tequila and red cups still filled with mixed drinks.

As many as 100 people crowded the block for Sunday night’s party, residents said.

Tiffany McDaniels, 27, a mother of three who lives on the 1500 block of Etting Street, heard gunshots early Monday morning and rushed to protect her children.

When the gunshots no longer rang out, she peeked outside her door and was met with chaos, she said. A young girl who appeared to be unconscious was on her front steps with a bloody leg, she said. A young man was on the front porch of a neighboring home, also bloodied, she said.

A party on the block that had grown large Sunday night got out of hand, said McDaniels, and erupted into violence.

Monday’s shooting followed an incident at the 7 Elements lounge in South Philadelphia early Saturday that left eight people injured, after a fight involving knives broke out just before 4 a.m.

The shooting Monday capped a weekend of violence in the city, with a shooting in West Philadelphia, two stabbings in the Tioga and Kensington neighborhoods, and a shooting in the 2400 block of North Reese Street that left a 26-year-old man dead. No arrest had been made in that shooting as of Sunday evening.

Philadelphia had entered the July 4 weekend with fewer shootings and homicides compared to the year before. As of July 5, 116 people had been killed and through June, fewer than 500 people had been shot in the city, the lowest number over the past decade.

Three people were killed and another 10 people were injured in a shooting in Grays Ferry early Monday, police said, after a gun battle broke out at the intersection of Etting and Dickinson streets at 12:56 a.m.

Among those shot were two children, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters in a briefing Monday morning, but the children were not among the dead. He did not have information on the ages of the deceased.

“There was a large crowd out here,” Bethel said, adding some initial reports had indicated up to 40 people were in the area when the shooting began. “Clearly, there was something going on on the block, you could see that.”