A somber air settled over Philadelphia as the Kingsessing community came together to honor the victims of a mass shooting that gripped the city one year ago. The vigil held yesterday night at Salt and Light Community Church in Southwest Philly remembered the five lives cut short over a tragic two-day span, as reported FOX 29’s Shawnette Wilson.
"You will remember a year ago on this very day we gathered here as a community that was hurting," said Senior Pastor Cean James in a statement obtained by FOX 29, while last July 3, 2023 should have been a serene summer evening was shattered by the echoes of gunfire, turning relaxation into terror as residents including a woman with her niece and young children in tow, sought refuge from the relentless attack of a shooter wielding an AR-style "ghost gun".
Tragedy struck as two teenage friends were walking home, forever altering the life of a 13-year-old who survived by hiding and losing his 15-year-old friend, Da'Juan Brown, who succumbed in the effort to distract the shooter; "As a grown man, what can a kid do to you that you want to harm them?" Rafiq Fitzgerald, the surviving boy's father, lamented in an interview cited by CBS News.
The assailant, now identified as Kimbrady Carriker, 41, faces numerous charges including five counts of murder and attempted murder and is expected in court next month for a pretrial hearing, the shooter’s current detention in the Delaware County Prison marks a grim closure to a spree that left eight shot and a community irrevocably scarred. Yesterday's vigil, highlighted by the presence of Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon and City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, was not just a moment of remembrance but also served as a beacon, offering support through on-site mental health professionals, according to a statement provided by Salt and Light Community Church.
