Caught on camera | Shocking shooting spree in Philadelphia leaves 3 dead

A shooting in South Philadelphia left three people dead and nine others wounded early Monday, police said, capping a violent Fourth of July weekend in the city that included more than a dozen shootings and stabbings.

Three men, ages 19, 23 and 24, died in the shooting in the Grays Ferry neighborhood just before 1 am, police said. Two minors, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, were among the wounded.

Most of those injured had been shot in the arms or legs, but a 19-year-old man sustained two gunshot wounds to his head and was in critical condition, authorities said.

Commissioner Kevin Bethel of the Philadelphia Police Department told reporters that "numerous rounds were shot" and that he expected a lengthy investigation. The police did not release any information about potential suspects.

Several dozen people had been congregating throughout the holiday weekend in the area where the shooting took place, Bethel said. He said officers had been called several times to the area for complaints about loud music and disturbances, and that officers were responding to a nearby incident when they heard gunshots around 1 am.

Neighbors told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the block was the site of partying all weekend. "When the party gets crazy, that's usually when the shooting starts," said Tiffany McDaniels, who lives there.

It was a violent weekend for the city. "I know this is going to be a very difficult weekend," Bethel said. "Folks are going to wake up and hear about a lot of the incidents that happened over the weekend."

Early Saturday morning, eight people were wounded in a shooting at 7 Elements, a South Philadelphia nightclub, that stemmed from an argument, police said. The city has since closed the nightclub.

On Thursday, a 15-year-old boy was found fatally shot in a Northeast Philadelphia driveway. On Sunday, a 26-year-old man was fatally shot in North Philadelphia.

Despite the deadly weekend, Philadelphia has made progress recently in reducing deadly violence. The police reported 120 homicides in 2025 through Sunday, down 10 per cent from the same period last year. The city had 269 homicides in 2024, less than half the number from 2021 and the lowest rate since 2014.