Long-sought gunman in South Philadelphia mass shooting turns himself in, officials say

A long-sought gunman who police say was involved in a mass shooting in South Philadelphia last summer turned himself in Thursday, officials said.

Christopher Battle, 24, walked into Philadelphia police headquarters Thursday morning to face multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, and related crimes after spending more than eight months on the run after the July 7 shooting that left three people dead and 10 others wounded, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

Prosecutors approved a warrant for his arrest in August after investigators said he was one of at least 15 people who fired guns on the 1500 block of Etting Street that night.

Hundreds of people were on the block for a party when investigators said a loud “pop” sound — potentially a car backfiring — frightened partygoers and led people to believe they were being shot at. In response, prosecutors said, more than a dozen people with guns started aimlessly firing down the block and in some cases shot their own friends.

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Three men were killed. Zahir Wylie, 23, was struck in the chest, and Jason Reese, 19, was shot in the head. Azir Harris, 27, who used a wheelchair after being paralyzed in an earlier shooting, was struck in the back as he sought cover between two cars.

A fourth person — a 19-year-old who was shot but survived — died last month, law enforcement sources said, but the medical examiner’s office has not yet determined the cause of his death or whether it had anything to do with his injuries from the shooting.

Four other people have been charged in the crime: Daquan Brown, 21, Terrell Frazier, 22, Brandon Fisher, 17, and Dieve Jardine, 45. At a preliminary hearing in January, Municipal Court Judge Francis W. McCloskey Jr. ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial, but downgraded the charges to multiple counts of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, and inciting a riot.

At a hearing earlier this month, prosecutors contested that decision, and Common Pleas Court Judge J. Scott O’Keefe reinstated all original charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Defense attorneys argued in court filings that all charges should be dismissed. The men who admitted to firing that night did so in self-defense, they said, and did not intend to kill or seriously wound anyone on the block.

Investigators in January described how they used surveillance video, social media posts and messages, and cell phone data to determine who had fired guns.

It was not immediately clear whether Battle had retained a lawyer.