Spate of shootings, including incident at Christmas Village, are ‘not the norm,’ Mayor Parker and law enforcement officials say

Despite a sharp decrease in shootings and homicides in Philadelphia this year, a spate of weekend shootings in the city had Mayor Cherelle L. Parker reiterating her commitment to tackling gun violence.

At a news conference Monday, she once again vowed to make “tough decisions” and empower the Police Department to hold perpetrators accountable for violence in the city.

At least 24 people were shot over the weekend in 11 incidents, including one that took place around rush hour on Friday outside of the Christmas Village at City Hall’s Dilworth Park, leaving three teen boys injured.

In all, four people were fatally shot over the weekend.

City and police officials did not provide any additional updates on the shooting at Dilworth Park, or any of the other shootings that happened over the weekend.

“Yes, you do know what the stats are,” Parker told the public in reference to the 37% drop in homicides and 36% drop in shootings this year compared to 2023. “They affirmed that, even despite this weekend’s gun violence, we are making some progress. But it’s not enough.”

Shootings over the weekend touched various corners of the city, including Holmesburg, Oxford Circle, Logan, and Pennypack Park. Two of them took place at venues that serve alcohol. The youngest victim was a 14-year-old and the oldest was a 48-year-old.

Flanked by Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel and District Attorney Larry Krasner at a news conference steps away from Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink, where two teens were shot Friday, Parker and others projected confidence and emphasized the strides made in reducing homicides and shootings while vowing to use every “constitutional tool available” to go after shooters.

“Where you stand now is one of the safest areas in the city of Philadelphia,” Bethel said in Dilworth Park. “We will bolster our resources here, as well as across the city, to address the episode of violence that we saw over the weekend, but I commit to you that that is not the norm.”

The weekend’s violence began shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday when holiday shoppers, ice skaters, and revelers at the Christmas Village at City Hall broke out in a panic as shots rang out.

What started as an argument between a group of teens at Freire Charter School at 20th and Chestnut Streets earlier in the day spilled over into the Christmas Village, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

The argument escalated when one of them pulled out a gun and fired four to five shots next to the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink, according to police. Three teens were wounded in the shooting.

Authorities found two boys injured at the scene: A 14-year-old boy who was shot in the face and remained in critical condition and a 15-year-old boy who was shot in the right calf and was in stable condition. A third victim was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia by his mother with a gunshot wound to the calf and was also in stable condition.

Authorities charged a 14-year-old boy with aggravated assault and related crimes n connection with the shooting, though he is not believed to be the one who pulled the trigger. Krasner said the teen was initially — and mistakenly — charged as an adult, but because the teen is not charged with homicide, the case would be moved to juvenile court. Still, he said, “that is not necessarily where it will end.” Police said they continued to search for at least one additional suspect.

Officials reassured residents of Center City’s safety Monday. Dilworth Park alone has more than 30 cameras with more than two dozen uniformed members of Center City District on site every day, they said.

“It’s important to note that Friday’s events were an isolated incident at Dilworth Park,” said Prema Gupta, Center City District president and CEO. “Up until then, we hosted more than 11 million visitors who’ve come here without incident.”

Still, the violence was felt across the city.

In the Penn-Knox section of Germantown, three men were shot Friday evening, leaving one dead. An 18-year-old and a 15-year-old were also shot in Holmesburg that night.

A 48-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday morning at Henny’s Sports Bar at 29th Street and Chalmers Avenue in North Philadelphia. Another five men were shot, one fatally, at D Street and Wyoming Avenue Sunday.

Two of the shootings, including the shooting at Dilworth Park, involved juvenile victims. While shootings across the city have fallen this year, the percentage that involved juveniles has risen. As of Friday, 12.5% of shooting victims were under the age of 18. Last year, around 9% of shooting victims were juveniles.

Parker said her administration had set aside funding for youth programs, including $3 million for little leagues in the city, to serve as places for young people to gather safely, and she renewed her call for investments in grassroots, anti-violence groups.

But the mayor made clear that there was no simple solution to gun violence in Philadelphia.

“It was 150 things when it comes to prevention and intervention,” Parker said.