August 12, 2023
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
A quadruple shooting at 8th and Diamond Playground basketball court left a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man dead Friday evening, police say. A 22-year-old man and a 22-year-old man are in critical condition.
Two men are dead, and another two are injured after a shooting at a basketball court in North Philadelphia on Friday evening, police say.
Around 6 p.m., at least 50 shots from multiple guns rang off near the 8th and Diamond Playground, 6ABC reported.
A 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man were both shot in the head and died at the scene, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner James Kelly said, according to multiple media reports.
A 23-year-old man was shot in the stomach, and a 22-year-old man was shot in the head and leg. The 23-year-old was taken to the hospital and placed in critical condition. The 22-year-old was found at 2000 N. Franklin Street and was also taken to the hospital, where he was placed in critical condition, NBC10 said.
"Multiple shooters came off of Darien Street, went in the playground, and fired eastbound at a group of males playing basketball," Kelly said via FOX29. "They were playing basketball, so they were all in close proximity, and they just started firing. We’re lucky we don’t have more people shot."
Kelly added that it appeared a group of five shooters were targeting someone or a group of people.
Crime and shootings near recreation centers and parks in Philadelphia have been a prevalent problem for the city; since 2019, there have been over 300 shootings at or near facilities, Brett Bessler, president of AFSCME-Local 2186, told 6ABC.
Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted that he was horrified by the shooting.
There have been no arrests, and an investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should call 911 or 215-686-TIPS. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online.
