PHILADELPHIA -- Five people have been arrested and multiple firearms have been recovered after a Wednesday afternoon shooting in West Philadelphia, police say.
The shooting unfolded at roughly 2:30 p.m. at Clara Muhammad Square where about 1,000 people had gathered for a celebration, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said during a news conference. One woman told a local station there were families, children and elderly people in attendance for Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic religious celebration marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
At some point, a “large volume of gunfire” began, Bethel said. Police believe two groups in the park started exchanging gunfire. Officers stopped three males and one female suspect who were running, and recovered four weapons, Bethel said.
Another officer engaged with a 15-year-old male suspect, firing and striking the teen in his shoulder and leg, and recovered a weapon from him, the commissioner said. That suspect was then transferred to the hospital.
One person was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his stomach, Bethel said. Another juvenile went to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his hands, Bethel said.
Najah Bey, who was attending the nearby event for Eid al-Fitr said she was enjoying time with her family when she heard shots. Everyone around her began running, screaming and getting on the ground and as she ran, she frantically searched for her son, then her mom, brothers and grandmother.
“We were just running and running and one of my family members got shot in the stomach,” Bey told CNN affiliate WPVI, later sharing it was her cousin who was wounded.
She said “hundreds” of people had been attending the event.
“We don’t know who was shooting, where the shots came from, but people started shooting and everyone just started running. You have babies, elderly people, everybody was just there to enjoy themselves, and now we end up at the emergency room.”
“You can’t even have a celebration without having to worry about somebody getting shot,” Bey added.
Thomas Allen, a 49-year-old local resident, said he was across the street when people began screaming. He told CNN he’s part of a non-profit initiative to help young people in Philadelphia get involved in technology and sciences and stay away from violence. And he was disappointed that the shooting unfolded during a religious celebration and was perpetrated at least partly by young people.
“It’s the holy month of Ramadan. Of all my years of living in Philadelphia, I’ve never seen nothing like this,” Allen said.
“It’s unheard of,” he said. “We have to do more to develop our children.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the shooting reports and is on the scene, a spokesperson said.
CNN’s Nadeem Muaddi and Danny Freeman reported from Philadelphia, Christina Maxouris wrote from Atlanta, and John Miller reported from New York. CNN’s Mark Morales and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
