Philadelphia mass shooting that left 3 dead was case of 'contagious gunfire'; 1 arrest made

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police have announced an arrest and revealed new details in their investigation into a mass shooting that claimed the lives of three people and left nine others injured back on July 7 in Grays Ferry.

Police say 13 different guns were fired at the scene that night in a case of ‘contagious gunfire’ that resulted in those guns being fired recklessly and indiscriminately.

What we know:

Police held a press conference Thursday morning to announce the arrest of Terrell Frazier, 22, in the deadly July 7 mass shooting that occurred on the 1500 block of South Etting Street.

Frazier, who was arrested in West Philadelphia, will be charged with three counts of murder and related offenses.

Police believe Frazier was one of the people seen in the doorbell camera footage of the incident firing from the far side of the street.  

‘Contagious gunfire’ prompted deadly Grays Ferry shooting

What they're saying:

Investigators say they are still working to identify and locate a number of suspects after they say a total of 13 guns were fired at the scene that night. More than 140 pieces of ballistic evidence were recovered at the scene. 

Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore says police now believe the shooting was a case of ‘contagious gunfire’ and stemmed from one person discharging a firearm at random - perhaps firing into the sky. He says police have ‘no idea’ what the suspects firing the 12 other guns were firing at, and that they did not appear to be firing at anyone or anything in particular. 

"There was no opposing party. They’re shooting among themselves really recklessly and carelessly, and it caused all this damage in this case," Vanore said. "It’s something we’re working towards getting to the bottom of in identifying every single person that was either out there carrying a gun illegally or firing that gun as part of this case. 

During Thursday’s press conference, Vanore revealed that there was a ‘social media-related gathering’ on the same block of Etting Street on Saturday July 5. Police were called to disperse a crowd of 100 to 200 people. 

While police worked to break up the gathering, some in the crowd became unruly, according to Vanore, and two people were arrested for alleged assaults on police officers.

Police say Frazier has also been identified as part of the crowd the previous night, and that social media video showed him jumping on a Philadelphia police vehicle that evening. 

The gathering picked back up on the block the following night, a short time before the deadly gunfire broke out. 

Three people were pronounced dead shortly after the incident.

• Zahir Wylie, 23, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m.
• Jason Reese, 19, sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at 1:31 a.m.
• Azir Harris, 24, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the back and was pronounced dead at 2:16 a.m.

Nine additional victims sustained various gunshot wounds. Those victims ranged in age from 15 to 24.

Troy Harris says it was a bright spot in their grief. Hours after receiving a beautiful, donated portrait of his 24-year-old son, Azir, he got a call from Philadelphia Police about the first arrest in his son’s murder.

"The evidence they got with the people is undeniable, so that’s how justice will be served," he said. "Everybody just trying to hold it together, it’s like you’re stuck in a nightmare just trying to wake up."

Azir, who was paralyzed and using a wheelchair due to his injuries in a drive-by shooting when he was only 17 years old, was one of three people shot and killed in the July 7th mass shooting.

A picture of Zahir Wiley, 23, sits outside his heartbroken mother’s West Philadelphia home. Wiley was also killed in the shooting.

"I just pray for the families that was caught in this with my son, I know it’s hard, it’s a lot of sleepless nights," said Harris. "It’s a real mess. Stop the violence, man. Just start loving each other, we can get a lot farther."

A GoFundMe was set-up to help the Harris family with Azir’s funeral, which happened last month, along with their living expenses. 

Dig deeper:

In the month since the shooting, police have released multiple videos of the shooting as they attempted to identify the suspects. 

They previously released videos included doorbell camera footage from a home on the block where multiple suspects could be seen shooting handguns down the street as bystanders took cover on front porches and behind cars on the block. 

Police would later release cell phone videos from the incident that included more clear footage of the suspects sought by police in connection with the incident.