Philadelphia police increase patrols for weekend events after Fairmount Park mass shooting
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In the wake of a mass shooting on Memorial Day evening in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia police are deploying additional resources ahead of another busy weekend in the city.
Chief Inspector John Przepiorka, who leads the Philadelphia Police Department's Tactical Support Bureau, said the department's goal is to ensure a fun and safe time for everyone.
"In light of what happened last Monday we will have a step-up deployment through the park system with uniform officers and plain clothes riding through parks checking on crowd capacity, checking on crowd sizes," Przepiorka said.
Monday's shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. as police were ushering people out of the park following Memorial Day cookouts near Lemon Hill. Two adults were killed and nine others were injured, including three teenagers.
The victims who died were identified as 23-year-old Amya Devlin and 21-year-old Mikhail Bowers.
Police are anticipating more cookouts and gatherings throughout the park this weekend, along with several large-scale events in the city.
The Roots Picnic is scheduled at the Mann Center on Saturday and Sunday, with organizers expecting 60,000 attendees over both days.
Przepiorka said planning for major events is always done in advance.
"There's no major change in planning since what happened on Monday. We plan for all our major events, big and small," he said.
In response to the weekend's anticipated crowds, the police department will deploy additional resources, including all tactical unit - mounted patrol, highway patrol, SWAT team, counterterrorism unit, major incident response team, and aviation support such as the department's helicopter, TAC Air.
The investigation into Monday's shooting is ongoing. Police now believe up to six shooters may have been involved, based on the discovery of six different types of shell casings at the scene. However, the area where the shooting occurred has limited lighting and no surveillance cameras, resulting in little video evidence.
Authorities are reminding the public that a $20,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in any homicide case in the city.
