‘I didn’t think it was going to stop’ | Morning Newsletter

We awake to another picture-perfect day with temperatures expected to reach the mid 80s but delivering the tragic news of a mass shooting near Second and South Streets last night that left three people dead and at least 11 injured.

What we know is 👇🏽, as our reporters and photographers remain on scene gathering information, piecing together this and a separate shooting near Fourth and South earlier in the week that saw the area riddled with over 50 shell casings.

More on this, including the latest developments, can be found on Inquirer.com.

— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

The gunfire was first heard around 11:30 p.m. A police commander said officers heard numerous gunshots near Second and South Streets and witnessed multiple people shooting into a crowd.

If you know anything about South Street on Saturday night, it’s packed with people up and down the strip. Compound that with near-perfect weather and you can fill in the blanks.

The latest: Police have yet to identify suspects or a motive, but have confirmed multiple shooters. A person believed to be a suspect was shot in the forearm, but it’s still unknown if that person was shot by officers. Police said two semiautomatic handguns were recovered at the scene.

The victims: We know that of the three who died, police identified two as a 25-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man. All shooting victims were taken to Pennsylvania Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

He said it: “It was chaos,” said Eric Walsh of O’Neals, a bar near Third and South. “People were coming off the street with blood splatters on white sneakers and skinned knees and skinned elbows. We literally just were balling up napkins and wetting them and handing them to people.”

Too close for comfort: On Tuesday, roughly two blocks west of Saturday’ gunfire, someone reportedly fired multiple shots at Fourth and South Streets. Officers at the scene found nearly 50 pieces of ballistic evidence that spanned several blocks. However, it’s still undetermined if that incident was related to Saturday’s shooting.

Our reporters, photographers and editors have been on this story overnight.

This is an abbreviated Sunday edition as we look to stay on top of this story. Stay safe today, Philadelphia. ✌️