Philadelphia mass shooting, 5 dead, suspect in custody

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Five people have been killed and two children wounded after a man wearing a bullet-proof vest opened fire in the US city of Philadelphia.

The suspected attacker, a 40-year-old man who is now in custody, was carrying an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun, a police scanner and ammunition.

He has no known connection to the victims and, with no clear motive, the shooting appeared to be random.
Police were called to the city's south-western Kingsessing area on Monday.

"When officers responded, they did identify and find some gunshot victims," Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. "As they were scooping up the victims and preparing them for transport to hospital, they also heard multiple gunshots."

Officers then chased the suspect on foot while gunfire continued to ring out, damaging parked cars and littering the streets with shell casings.

At about 20:40 local time (00:40 Tuesday GMT), police cornered the man in an alleyway. He surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident.

At this point, all we know is that this person decided to leave their home and target individuals," Commissioner Outlaw said, adding that she had "absolutely no idea why this happened".

"We're canvassing the area to get as much as we can - to identify witnesses, to identify where cameras are located, and do everything we can to figure out the 'why' behind this happening," she said.

Commissioner Outlaw said there could have been more victims had it not been for the officers' actions.

Dozens of shell casings were found across a large area spanning eight blocks, which has since been cordoned off by investigators.

The suspect has not been named and police are still searching for a potential motive.

Another person was also arrested. They are believed to have acquired a gun and "returned fire in the direction of the shooter", the commissioner said.

It is not clear whether that person has a connection to the gunman.

Kimbrady Carriker was identified as the suspect accused of shooting six people in a random rampage in Philadelphia on July 3, 2023, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and Fox29.

Five people died in the mass shooting, according to the Philadelphia police chief. Fox29 reported that one of the victims was found inside a home; a lot of the gunfire occurred on the street, according to the chief. The shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. in the area of 56th Street and Chester Avenue in southwestern Philadelphia, according to WPVI.

On Facebook, Carriker shared videos of guns and expressed concern that President Joe Biden was going to take away gun rights. The Facebook page was taken down by the social media company after Carriker was named as the suspected gunman, but Heavy viewed the posts before the page was removed.

Multiple posts on the page dealt with concern that people’s guns will be taken away by government. Carriker shared videos of children with guns. He also shared a post about supporting President Donald Trump. Carriker also shared a photo of a raised hand that is used by the BLM or Black Lives Matter movement.

Police later named the five victims as Daujan Brown, 15; Lashyd Merritt, 20; Dymir Stanton, 29; Joseph Wamah Jr., 31; and Ralph Moralis, 59, according to Fox29.

Police don’t believe there is a connection between Carriker and any of the victims, Outlaw said at a news conference.

1. Kimbrady Carriker Was Wearing a Ballistic Vest With Multiple Magazines & Was Carrying a Scanner, the Police Chief Says

2. Kimbrady Carriker Was Described as Creative & ‘Cool’ But With ‘An Aggressive Approach’
Tina Rossette, a former roommate of Carriker’s, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he was “really smart, intelligent, creative,” and interested in computers.

“I didn’t even know he had a gun,” Rosette told The Inquirer, adding that Carriker had “an aggressive approach to some things in life.”

Rossette’s daughter, Cianni Rosette, told the newspaper that Carriker showed her a handgun but was “cool” and creative. She told the newspaper that she had rejected Carriker for a romantic relationship and that he was in a “dark place” although it wasn’t clear why.

3. Kimbrady Carriker Wrote About Gun Rights & Anti-Violence Programs on Facebook
On Facebook, Carriker went by the name “Kimbrady Watson Carriker” before the page was removed.

The page’s profile picture showed Keanu Reeves in the “Matrix” movie. Its top post, from the day before the mass shooting, was a YouTube video that shows a gun. Carriker recently shared an article that was captioned, “How do you know if an evil spirit is following you?” and also shared a story about a Philadelphia anti-violence initiative.

“I found this on NewsBreak: Philly anti-violence grant program shows promising results, despite some hiccups, new evaluation shows,” Carriker wrote with that post.

Just days before the mass shooting, Carriker quoted Bible verses on Facebook and wrote, “But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves” and “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”

On June 23, Carriker wrote, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. #We fight Daemons and Devils.”

Carriker sometimes wrote about political issues, and he shared memes negative to Joe Biden. “Don’t be fooled. Wawa is closing in Philly because of $15 minimum wage. They will be back with cashless stores and all the sheep will cheer that their brother is unemployed,” he wrote.

Carriker wrote, “During community patrols I have notice a big shame. So many of our 50 + 60 + 70 year old elders are influencing the youth negatively. They are without a doubt promoting and participating in robbing, prostitution, scamming, and murder. When one of their monsters is killed they cry foul. Boohoo, these pillars; these old ass people who should know better kill our youth.”

Carriker shared a symbol used by BLM:
Carriker shared a video of Biden and wrote, “This y’all president. We said 2A defends our rights. Now its god save the queen while he attempts to take our arms.” He also shared a video headlined, “Biden turns red coat, in latest gun grabbing speech,” and wrote, “I told you he wanted your rights. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN SAYS BIDEN.”

Carriker also shared a post from President Trump’s Patriot Army that reads, “Who supports President Trump in 2024?”

He shared a photo of a sweatshirt that read, “I lubricate my AR-15 with liberal tears.” He shared a YouTube video of Tucker Carlson that said he humiliated Eric Swalwell.

4. Kimbrady Carriker, Who Referred to Himself as a ‘Torn Angel’ on Facebook, Worked in IT
Carriker’s Facebook profile page read, “Torn Angel – We are” and said Carriker was the “owner at LDS Frame Works” and a former director of IT and Development who studied at the Lincoln Technical Institute and Cittone Institute. Carriker went to Bonita Vista Senior High School and lives and is from Philadelphia, the page said.

A second person is in custody, according to the police chief. That person may have picked up someone’s gun and “returned fire,” according to Outlaw. Outlaw said that person, who was not named, shot in the direction of Carriker, although the chief did not name the suspect in the press conference.

The police chief described Carrier as a 40-year-old African-American male.

5. The Philly Mass Shooting Comes on the Heels of a Mass Shooting at a Block Party in Baltimore

The suspect in Monday's deadly mass shooting in Philadelphia was charged with murder Wednesday as authorities said he was becoming increasingly agitated in the days leading up to the rampage and expressing disturbing behavior online. Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was charged with five counts of murder and other charges in the shooting that killed five people, prosecutors said.

The suspect was "exhibiting abnormal behavior for quite a while," Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said during a news conference Wednesday. The suspect lived in a house with seven other people, Assistant District Attorney Robert Wainwright told reporters.

"They thought he was getting more and more agitated as the days were passing," Pescatore said, "and their way of dealing with it was just to avoid it and not interfere with him even though they all lived in the same house."

Pescatore said the housemates told investigators it had become "the norm" for the suspect to wear his bulletproof vest and have guns in the house.

"I'm not blaming anybody, but if anybody out there has such a situation as this, maybe, maybe, just call, call somebody … and maybe he could have gotten help before this became what it did," Pescatore said

Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal said "disturbing messages" were found on a social media page belonging to the suspect. Bilal and prosecutors didn't provide additional details about the messages, but they urged people, in general, to report concerning behavior online to authorities.

Asa Khalif, a member of District Attorney Larry Krasner's LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, told reporters that pictures of the suspect were being used to attack transgender people online. Khalif said the suspect has identified himself only as male, not as transgender.

"The language that is spewed out by the conservative press is violent and is dangerous and is targeting trans women of color," Khalif said. "It's rallying the community to be violent, and we're better than that."

During a court appearance Wednesday, the suspect was denied bail, and a preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled for July 24, CBS News Philadelphia reported.

In addition to the murder counts, the suspect was also charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, a spokeswoman for Krasner said in a statement to CBS News.

Krasner told reporters at the news conference that authorities were investigating how the suspect obtained the weapons. "Everything about his record suggests that these were obtained illegally," Krasner said.