PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two men are facing murder charges and have been arrested in Virginia in the death of two bystanders in last weekend’s shooting in a busy entertainment district in Philadelphia, officials said Thursday.
The men will be extradited to face charges in Philadelphia and will not be given bail in Saturday night’s shooting on South Street, city officials said at a news conference.
Three people died overall. Two of the people killed were bystanders, authorities have said.
Joanne Pescatore, homicide unit chief at the Philadelphia district attorney’s office, said that according to surveillance video, the two men, who are friends and had fled to Virginia together, fired randomly into the crowd in response to hearing gunshots down the block. It did not appear that the men and the victims knew one another.
“It appears that they had guns, took them out and just started randomly firing,” Pescatore said.Authorities earlier announced two arrests not connected with any of the deaths.
At least four guns were fired during a mass shooting on Philadelphia’s South Street on Saturday, killing three and leaving 11 others shot and another person injured. Pescatore, at a news conference Monday. described four, distinct crime scenes that spanned a city block.
One of the alleged shooters, Gregory Jackson, 34, was killed on Saturday night, Pescatore said. A second alleged shooter, Micah Towns was in the hospital and has not been charged, she said. A third alleged shooter, Quran Garner was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated assault on a police officer, she said.
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At least four persons may have fired at least four guns at Second and South streets, investigators said. A police officer also reported a man firing a weapon near the corner of South and American streets located approximately 300 feet away.
That city block is home to more than dozen bars, clubs, trendy shops, and apartments. The street was packed with nightlife shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday, when the bullets started to fly.
