3 days ago
Summer festivities continue at Fairmount Park despite recent deadly mass shooting
The Brief
Parks on Tap, a traveling beer garden throughout Philadelphia's neighborhoods, will be in Lemon Hill May 28–June 1.
This comes just days after a mass shooting occurred in the Lemon Hill area on Memorial Day, leaving two killed and nine others injured.
PHILADELPHIA - Days after a tragic shooting during a Memorial Day party in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia residents are returning to the park to enjoy summer festivities.
Despite the violence, the community is determined to focus on positive experiences and continue celebrating in the city.
The backstory
Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to the 800 block of Lemon Hill Drive around 10:30 p.m. for reports of a shooting.
Police reported that two people were killed, and nine others were injured when nearly two dozen shots erupted at a Memorial Day gathering.
Amya Devlin, 23, and Mikhail Bowers, 21, were identified as the two people that were killed in the shooting.
Six of the nine shooting victims were teenagers, according to police, including a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.
All of those injured are in stable condition.
Investigators at the scene Monday night were able to find 21 shell casings and after further searches early Tuesday morning, they found about a dozen more.
What's New
Philadelphia police have confirmed that five different guns were used in the shooting at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park, initially believed to involve three shooters.
The incident left crime scene tape marking the area, but the community is moving forward with events like Parks on Tap at the mansion, just steps away from where the shooting occurred.
What they're saying
Emily Della Rosa, attending with her newborn daughter Audrey, expressed confidence in the safety of the event: "I would never bring my daughter to something where I didn't feel perfectly safe."
Dailey Delia, a Parks on Tap patron, acknowledged the city's violence but emphasized resilience: "Obviously there's a lot of violence throughout the city, all kinds of neighborhoods, and I think it's part of city living that you just sort of accept that risk and keep pushing on."
Danielle Kudlacik shared her initial hesitation but decided to attend: "I did think about it. And I was like, hmmmm, I don't know if we should switch, but I didn't hear anything differently, so I was like, OK, I bet you if I still go out. If they haven't announced we're not doing it, then we're probably still fine to come out here."
Alison Mesko appreciated the community's spirit: "Obviously it's horrible that it happened, but I'm glad that people are still out enjoying the night and that we're still able to get together."
Jimmy Segilia highlighted the importance of continuing events: "You're living in a city, things are gonna happen sometimes, but it's bad when you see a couple of bad apples kind of ruin it for everyone else. I think it's important that they're still doing this event and know that it's a safe area, so I felt OK coming today."
Local Perspective
Philadelphia police presence added a sense of security as families enjoyed food and draft beers. Gary Kiefer, organizer of It's Better Outdoors, noted, "I know some people from my group were probably a little hesitant to come back out, but as of this morning, we still had about 50 people coming out tonight. It's horrible, obviously, but we're still gonna come out here because it's a cool spot."
Rob Fumanti, a member of It's Better Outdoors, appreciated the park's appeal: "It's awesome, good view, it's nice, great weather, so no last thing is gonna keep you away from this exactly, yeah."
Erin Dunkel echoed the sentiment: "I figured it's gonna be just something from that holiday weekend, and this is a beautiful park, so why not take advantage of it."
Emily Della Rosa concluded with a focus on positivity: "You have to focus on the positive things in life, like having great coworkers and having a good time together. That's what it's all about."
