2 dead, 9 injured in Memorial Day shooting in Philadelphia: Police
A male and female adult victim were pronounced dead, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a media briefing early on May 27.
The other nine victims are in stable condition. Three of the injured are juveniles between 15 and 17 years old, Bethel said.
Bethel said witnesses reported hearing gunshots at the park around 10:27 p.m. local time on May 26.
Officials have not recovered any weapons, and no arrests have been made.
A large number of adults were present at the park when the shooting occurred, Bethel said.
"They were packing up as this incident unfolded," Bethel said.
Officers will review social media posts as part of their investigation, he added.
Bethel said officials believe the weapon used may have been modified using a switch.
"It's pretty rapid fire so we're pretty confident that there probably was a switch on this gun," Bethel said.
A switch is a device that converts a semi-automatic Glock pistol to function as a machine gun, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Memorial Day shooting: South Carolina shooting leaves at least 11 hospitalized in Horry County
Fairmount Park spans about 2,000 acres in northern Philadelphia, according to Visit Philadelphia. The area is generally popular outside of holidays like Memorial Day, Bethel said.
"It's not uncommon for us to have large groups of individuals surge into the park," Bethel said. "We deal with those on a regular basis."
Bethel also added that the area was not well lit at the time of the shooting.
Bethel also emphasized the gravity of the holiday during which the shooting occurred.
"This is significant," Bethel said. "It's Memorial Day — a day where we honor those who gave their lives in war. So we understand the significance of this event and we will make sure to provide an update later today."
Memorial Day, traditionally observed on the last Monday of May, is a federal holiday in the United States dedicated to honoring military personnel who have died in the line of duty.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Contributing: Reuters
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
(This story was updated to include video.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fairmount Park, Philadelphia shooting: 2 dead, 9 injured
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
39 minutes ago
- Newsweek
The Bulletin August 11, 2025
The rundown: President Donald Trump is considering deploying hundreds of members of the National Guard in Washington D.C. in the latest step in his campaign to make the city "safer and more beautiful." Find out more. Why it matters: Reuters, citing an unidentified official, said Trump was considering the deployment of National Guard personnel, but added that the president had not made a final decision and the number of troops and their role was being determined. NBC said Trump may use up to 1,000 National Guard troops and could make an announcement on Monday, three officials said. Earlier on Sunday, Trump declared that homeless people must leave Washington "immediately," promising they would be relocated "far from the capital" as part of his effort to make the city "safer and more beautiful." The Trump administration has not consulted D.C.'s law-enforcement leadership on optimal deployment strategies for federal resources, according to senior district officials. Read more in-depth coverage: Trump Sends 120 FBI Agents to DC Amid Crime Crackdown Threat: Report TL/DR: The president has the powers to deploy the National Guard in Washington, but, as in other parts of the country, the National Guard has usually been deployed to quell civil unrest. What happens now? The president will elaborate on his plans for the city at his news conference at 10 a.m. ET on Monday. Deeper reading Trump Considers Deploying National Guard Troops to DC
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US deficit grows to $291 billion in July despite tariff revenue surge
(Reuters) -The U.S. government's budget deficit grew nearly 20% in July to $291 billion despite a nearly $21 billion jump in customs duty collections from President Donald Trump's tariffs, with outlays growing faster than receipts, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday. The deficit for July was up 19%, or $47 billion, from July 2024. Receipts for the month grew 2%, or $8 billion, to $338 billion, while outlays jumped 10%, or $56 billion, to $630 billion, a record high for the month. The month of July this year had fewer business days than last year, so the Treasury Department said that adjusting for the difference would have increased receipts by about $20 billion, resulting in a deficit of about $271 billion. Net customs receipts in July grew to about $27.7 billion from about $7.1 billion in the year-earlier period due to higher tariff rates imposed by Trump, a Treasury official said. These collections were largely in line with the increase in June customs receipts after steady growth since April. Trump has touted the billions of dollars flowing into U.S. coffers from his tariffs, but the duties are paid by companies importing the goods, with some costs often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Consumer price index data on Tuesday showed increases in prices for some tariff-sensitive goods like furniture, footwear and auto parts, but they were offset by lower gasoline prices in the overall index. For the first 10 months of the fiscal year, customs duties totaled $135.7 billion, up $73 billion, or 116%, from the year-earlier period. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network's "Kudlow" program that the growing U.S. tariff revenue will make it difficult for the Supreme Court to rule against Trump's import taxes if a legal challenge to them makes its way to the country's top court. Ken Matheny, director of macroeconomics Yale University's Budget Lab, said it is unclear how much further monthly tariff revenue will grow, but the applied tariff rate measured by customs duties divided by the value of goods imports is still around 10%, lower than the current average tariff rate of about 18% based on the latest announcements. Significant numbers of firms are likely holding goods in bonded customs warehouses in the hope that negotiations will bring tariff rates down, but at some point those goods will enter the country, triggering duty payments, he said.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Israel says Gazans free to exit while Hamas attends Cairo ceasefire talks
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Militant group Hamas' chief negotiator held talks with Egyptian mediators over a potential ceasefire in the Gaza war on Wednesday while Israel struck the territory's main city prior to a planned takeover and again invited Palestinians to leave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea - also enthusiastically floated by U.S. President Donald Trump - that Palestinians should simply leave the enclave housing more than 2 million people after nearly two years of conflict. "They're not being pushed out, they'll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us." Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war. More: UN chief puts Israel, Russia 'on notice' over conflict-related sexual violence accusations Israel's planned re-seizure of Gaza City - which it took in the early days of the war before withdrawing - is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages. Israeli planes and tanks bombed eastern areas of Gaza City heavily, residents said, with many homes destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods overnight. Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Zeitoun. Tanks also destroyed several houses in the east of Khan Younis in south Gaza too, while in the centre Israeli gunfire killed nine aid-seekers in two separate incidents, Palestinian medics said. Israel's military did not comment. Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Wednesday were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and "ending the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement. CEASEFIRE POSSIBILITIES Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons. A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel pulls out. However, "Laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. More: Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media's talk of Gaza aid crisis Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave. About half of Gaza's residents live in the Gaza City area. Foreign ministers of 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Japan, said this week the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached "unimaginable levels" and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid. Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including daily combat pauses in some areas and protected routes for aid convoys. The Israeli military on Wednesday said that nearly 320 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings and that a further nearly 320 trucks were collected and distributed by the U.N. and international organizations in the past 24 hours along with three tankers of fuel and 97 pallets of air-dropped aid. The United Nations and Palestinians say aid entering Gaza remains far from sufficient. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Emily Rose in Jerusalem; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
