Shooting at Ramadan event disrupts joyous celebration
A celebration of the end of Ramadan devolved into panic Wednesday in Philadelphia after rival groups exchanged gunfire, leaving at least three people injured and hundreds of parents and children to flee in search of safety.
The annual Eid al-Fitr event, held outside a large mosque in the city's Parkside neighborhood, came to a sudden end when some 30 shots rang out at about 2:30 p.m., Philadelphia police said.
Five people were later taken into custody, including a 15-year-old boy who sustained leg and shoulder wounds when he was shot by police and was taken to the hospital by an officer, authorities said. Police said he was carrying a gun.
Additionally, one man was shot in the stomach and a juvenile victim had a wound to the hand, police said.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel confirmed at a news conference that a police vehicle responding to the 911 calls for help struck a 15-yearold girl who was fleeing the park. He said the child suffered a leg injury.
Witnesses described running to tents set up near the park, hiding behind trees and dropping to the pavement to avoid the gunfire, trying to shield children. Other attendees ran inside the nearby school and mosque and began frantically searching for their children and loved ones.
Authorities said nearly 1,000 people attended the event. Several witnesses said they came back to the park hours after the shooting to try to find their shoes or cellphones after running several streets away to safety.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people attending this event were good people who wanted to have a good time,” Bethel said, noting that city officials were offering their support to the Islamic community.
Zania Weatherford had just gone to her car for a moment when she heard the gunfire and saw people running across the street. She called relatives at the event to make sure they were safe.
“Last year, someone set off firecrackers and scared everyone,” Weatherford said. “This is just a celebration of life for God to forgive us for our sins. There's one month that God chains the devil down, so whoever did this can't even blame the devil.”
Thomas Allen, who was at the Philadelphia Masjid located next the park, said the scene during the shooting was “pandemonium.”
The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. The suspects include four males and a female, Bethel said.
Eid al-Fitr is an Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the month when devout Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset. Ramadan is a time of increased worship, charity, and good deeds. Eid alFitr means the feast, or festival, of breaking the fast.