Philadelphia officials call for order after 24 people shot: 'This weekend doesn't define us'

PHILADELPHIA - The holiday season was marred by gun violence in Philadelphia this weekend after a string of 11 separate shootings left a total of 24 people shot, four of them fatally.

Mayor Cherelle Parker, along with Philadelphia police, DA Larry Krasner and other city officials, gathered Monday to call for a return to order after a 3-day rise in terror across the city.

"Every homicide victim was somebody's son, brother, father, uncle, daughter, sister, mother, aunt," Parker said. "These are human beings we are talking about."

The chain of tragic events began Friday evening when gunfire erupted at the Christmas Village in Dilworth Plaza, forcing merchants and visitors to run for cover.

Two 14-year-old boys and one 15-year-old boy were injured in the shooting. Only one of the victims remains in the hospital, a 14-year-old, in critical condition.

Later that night, more teens were shot when two different double shootings rang out in Northeast Philadelphia.

The gun violence took a deadly turn when at least three people were killed after a quintuple shooting inside a home, a triple shooting at a bar, and double shooting on a Philadelphia street.

The spate of shootings comes as numbers of homicides and shooting victims are both down for Philadelphia this year. However, Parker said that is "not enough."

"The numbers don't mean a damn thing," the mayor said. "We will not rest until every resident in every neighborhood feels safe in their homes, going to school or walking in their community."

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and DA Larry Krasner echoed the mayor's call for order, stating that this "episode of violence" won't deter them from their mission.

"This weekend does not define who we are as a city," Bethel said.

Barbara Sanchez, an employee with a holiday vendor at Dilworth Park, recalls what she saw Friday afternoon, which originally, she thought was just rowdy teenagers.

"I saw the kids, there was fighting, about 15 teenagers, all 14-15-year-olds," said Sanchez. "Five minutes later they’re running all through the village, just teenagers being teenagers, about another 10 minutes, we hear pop, pop, pop, 4 shots, then everybody was running, and it was chaos."

City officials say despite a harrowing 24 gunshot victims city-wide over the weekend, shootings are down more than 30 percent compared to last year, and 2024 homicides are on pace to be the lowest in 10 years.

"Center City is one of the safest areas in the city of Philadelphia," said Commissioner Kevin Bethel. "We will bolster our resources here, as well as across the city, to address the episode of violence that we saw over the weekend, but I commit to you that that is not the norm."

The group all attends the same Center City school and has had ongoing fights, according to law enforcement sources. 

Commissioner Bethel said they have also had ongoing issues with young people gathering around City Hall, and a deployment to address it. 

City officials say their work with city council to bolster before and after-school programs, among others, plays an important role.

"We’re going to continually be working hard, to go after our young people, particularly those who are carrying guns. But this is the work, right?" said Commissioner Bethel. "We've seen this across the city when young people unfortunately have weapons, they will use them."

On a tight-knit West Philadelphia block, mom Natasha Pitt says her 14-year-old son grew up with the critically injured 14-year-old victim, who lives a few houses away.

"I would definitely tell the kids and the parents to monitor their children more and to get location on the kids and where they’re at, what they’re into after school," said Pitt. "He’s in a fight, we’re praying for this kid, he didn’t ask, or deserve that over just a physical fight turned violent."