Philadelphia cookout shooting: Who are the victims? 2 dead, 1 hurt after over 100 shots fired
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: At least two individuals were killed and a young girl was injured in a triple shooting at a barbecue in Philadelphia on the evening of on Sunday, July 4, amid Fourth of July celebrations. In Sunday's incident, which occurred about 10:30 pm in West Philadelphia, well over 100 bullets were fired. According to local media sources, due to the presence of a large number of fragments and casings, authorities had to construct handwritten evidence markers on the site, at 60th Street and around the corner onto Walnut Street.
In a similar incident in June, a mass shooting in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood resulted in the deaths of eight individuals. At least 13 people were injured in a shooting in downtown Austin on June 12, only a few days ago. On the same day, a man was shot dead and a woman was wounded in a barrage of gunfire outside a Bronx church in New York City.
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Who are the Philadelphia cookout shooting victims?
In the gunfire, two males, ages 21 and 23, were killed. According to FOX 29 in Philadelphia, a 16-year-old girl was also shot, and her status is unknown at this time. The case has yet to be linked to a suspect or a motive.
According to sources, the 21-year-old victim has been identified as Salahaldin Mahmoud, the first cousin of State Senator Sharif Street's wife. Authorities said Mahmoud was shot multiple times and died of a head wound in the hospital.
The 23-year-old was identified as Sircarr Johnson Jr., the proprietor of Premiere Bande, a clothing business in West Philadelphia. He was shot in the torso multiple times. Johnson Jr. was also a father, a husband, a son, and a brother, according to ABC. Johnson Jr. celebrated the birth of his own daughter, whom he affectionately refers to as "my heart," "a princess," and "the boss" in his Instagram postings, in August.
Johnson Jr had invited the neighborhood to an Independence Day BBQ, which also happened to be his store's anniversary party. "How the bullet don’t hit me? How it don’t hit me?" said Johnson Sr., who saw his son shot dead in front of him. "They loved my son. He is ten times better than the person I was."
Johnson Jr announced a Fourth of July anniversary barbeque on his store's Instagram account on Sunday, declaring "another year of success." "4th of July Anniversary Cookout!! Everything free starts at 6:00. Celebrating another year of success!" the post read. "
What happened at the barbecue?
More than 100 shots were fired and the two young men were killed in the crossfire, authorities said. There were at least three shooters, they confirmed. The motive for the shooting is not known at this time. Witnesses first mistook the gunshots around 1030 pm at 60th and Sansom streets for fireworks. Then they started to run. Witnesses said the sound of bullets mixed with those of fireworks made it difficult to find out the direction from where it was coming.
This wasn't the only deadly shooting on that day. An 18-year-old was found shot to death on the sidewalk by someone walking along the 2100 block of West Sedgely Avenue in North Philadelphia. A 21-year-old man was also gunned down just before 2 am Monday, July 5, along the 5900 block of Hazel Street in West Philadelphia.