‘It’s never acceptable’: Deadly Fairmount Park shooting triggers more frustration over gun violence and not enough for teens to do

At the leafy intersection of Greenland and Woodford Drives in East Fairmount Park Saturday afternoon, a bullet and traces of white chalk evidence circles were the only signs of a devastating shooting late Friday night that left one teenager dead and four others wounded.

The gunfire occurred around 10:50 p.m. among a crowd of about 100 juveniles near the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, police said.

When it was over, a 17-year-old female was dead and four other teenagers — an 18-year-old female, a 14-year-old boy and two 15-year-old boys — were injured, according to police, who reported no arrests.

Fourteen hours after the shooting, and on the same day as the park’s Philly LGBTQ+ Field Day, two investigators in gray suits kept the scene off-limits to park users as they awaited the arrival of K9s they said were being brought in to try to detect traces of gunpowder.

Meanwhile, nearby, people carried on with their typical weekend routines.

At the Miles Gray, Jr. Memorial Tennis Courts, Stanley Conquest, 67, who said he lives blocks from the crime scene, said he didn’t hear anything overnight. But he wasn’t surprised to learn of the shooting, despite describing the park as “the safest place here” and incidents of violence there as “very rare.”

“But every time kids gather like that there’s always something happening,” Conquest said.

A father himself, he faults caretakers for not knowing their children’s whereabouts. ”We have a curfew, the fault isn’t the city, it’s the parents,” he said.

Salim Ali strongly disagreed. As the president of the Strawberry Mansion Tennis Association, he has spent decades working with the neighborhood youth.

”They need help and the city keeps faking the game,” Ali said. “Schools are underfunded, activities for children are cut, and they don’t fund community programs. Where are kids supposed to go?”

Stanley Crawford, president and CEO of the Black Male Community Council of Philadelphia, said there’s no singular way to mitigate the city’s shootings, which typically ramp up in the summer months. But among the biggest steps is to get Black juveniles off the streets, and to equip them with the resources they need to thrive outside those environments.

“We need to be able to find ways and means to get in the community, especially as Black men, and be consistent amongst these young brothers with the proper resources to help them move in another direction,” said Crawford, who started the coalition after losing his son William Aboaje Samir Crawford to gun violence five years ago. According to police, all five of Friday night’s victims are Black.

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Since May 1, there have been more than 140 shootings in Philadelphia, with over 30 of them fatal. Some 12% of the shootings have involved juvenile victims, according to the Office of the Controller.

Friday night’s shooting happened after the city’s 10 p.m. curfew for Philly teens. The restriction, framed as a way to protect children amid the city’s gun violence crisis, changed from midnight to 10 p.m. in summer 2022.

According to the Citizens Police Oversight Commission, the legislation encourages police to transport children 14 to 17 years old to their homes or a community evening resource center if they violate the curfew. The legislation prohibits children 13 and under from being out after 9:30 p.m.

Despite citywide curfews over the past decades, community leader and anti-gun violence advocate Sajda “Purple” Blackwell said the restrictions have little impact on juvenile crime and victimization.

Blackwell, whose brother Ronnie Easley died of a gunshot wound at age 7, said there needs to be higher enforcement of the city’s curfew and parental accountability to realize real change. “We’re in a different emergency right now,” Blackwell said. “Although gun violence is down, it’s still high in Philadelphia. One Black boy or Black girl is too many. It’s never acceptable.”

Without stronger intervention on behalf of city leaders, Crawford fears fatal shootings will continue to rise, furthering the city’s long-standing battle with gun violence.