Gunman opens fire at random on Philadelphia streets, killing 4 before he is arrested

YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of the U.S. city of Philadelphia on Monday night, seemingly at a random, killing four people and wounding two boys, Associated Press reported citing local police.

The shootings took place over several city blocks in the southwestern neighborhood of Kingsessing. Responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire, and he was arrested in an alley after surrendering, police said.

No connection was immediately known between the victims and the shooter.

The suspect, a 40-year-old man, had a bulletproof vest, an “AR-type rifle,” multiple magazines, a handgun and a police scanner.

A second person was also taken into custody who may have returned fire at the suspect, but police did not know whether there was a connection between the two people.

Three of the dead were 20 to 59 years old, while the fourth, who had not yet been identified, was estimated to be between 16 and 21. All were male. The two hospitalized victims are boys, ages 2 and 13.

The shooting occurred a day after gunfire erupted at a holiday weekendblock party in Baltimore, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the southwest, killing two people and wounding 28 others. The Philadelphia violence is the country’s 29th mass killing in 2023, according to adatabasemaintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.