South Street Mass Shooting: 2 Men In Custody In Connection To Shooting That Left 3 Dead, 11 Injured
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Two men are in custody in connection to a mass shooting on Philadelphia's South Street over the weekend. Police said Monday night the second suspect, 34-year-old Rashaan Vereen, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals. Vereen is facing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges, among others.
Vereen was taken into custody around 7:30 p.m. without incident. Officials also searched his West Passyunk home for weapons but did not find any.
Neighbors say Vereen has two children. It's unclear if either was home at the time he was taken into custody.
Authorities say Quran Garner has also been charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated assault, simple assault and violation of uniform firearm acts.
So far, investigators have linked four guns to Saturday night's violence. One of the weapons was a ghost gun.
Two people were killed along with a gunman in the mass shooting and 11 others were wounded by gunfire and another victim was hurt by shattered glass.
The mass shooting unfolded at 11:31 p.m. Saturday.
Investigators described it as a series of shootings with multiple shooters in the 200 and 300 blocks of South Street that sent people running for their lives.
Video obtained by Eyewitness News shows much of the evening was chaotic along the 200, 300, and 400 blocks of South Street.
A fight between two armed men outside a water ice store is believed to have been what police call the "genesis" of dozens and dozens of rounds being fired.
Investigators confirmed to Eyewitness News that this fight between three men was the start of trouble.
The District Attorney's Office says a man identified as Greg Jackson in video Eyewitness News has been showing shoots at a man identified as Micah Townes. Townes then fired back at Jackson. Jackson is then pronounced dead at the scene.
A third individual is being identified as Garner, who is in the hospital facing multiple charges. Garner is facing aggravated assault and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer charges.
Police say they saw Garner firing down from 3rd and American Streets in the direction of South Street. A police officer engaged Garner, fired upon Garner and wounded him in the hand.
Garner then showed up at another shooting scene Philadelphia police were at, at a 4th and Bainbridge Streets, and gave police a story that he had been shot at the scene on South Street.
"It's our belief was that a friend or was with Micah Townes when the initial altercation starts. After the initial altercation, guns were drawn by Gregory Jackson and Micah Townes," Joanne Pescatore, chief of the homicide unit at the Philadelphia DA's Office, said. "Gregory Jackson shoots at Micah Townes first. Micah Townes returns fire, shooting and killing Gregory Jackson. As a result of that, Quran Garner then begins to fire down the street, toward South Street, toward where the initial confrontation took place. It is at that point that Philadelphia police began to shoot after Quran Garner pulls a gun, has the gun out and looks in their direction. They shoot at him, shooting his hand. He's currently at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital undergoing surgery for a result of injuries sustained when the police shot back at him."
Prosecutors said the gun Garner used was a ghost gun with an extended magazine.
"I'd like to thank our PPD investigators, the ATF, The FBI, and the United States Marshall's Service for their swift and diligent work in identifying and apprehending two individuals wanted in connection to the horrific shooting incident that occurred Saturday evening on South Street," Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement. "That being said, there is still more work to do. The PPD will continue to work with all of our law enforcement and community partners to identify and apprehend each and every individual responsible for these heinous crimes."
Prosecutors stressed both Jackson, who died in the shootout, and Townes were permitted to carry.
Police recovered multiple weapons.
"I think there were about 70 officers at least in that few block area and they didn't seem to care that there was a police officer in sight," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.
Kenney pushed back on claims there were not enough officers, pointing to the guns for turning a fight into a deadly event.
He says short-term he's leveraging additional officers from state police. He also says declaring a state of emergency isn't the answer.
"The National Guard is not trained or licensed to do law enforcement," Kenney said.
He also says he'll consider curfews on a case-by-case basis, along with crowd control policy changes.
"It's a touchy situation. You tell people they can't be at a specific place when they are just going about their business, shopping or eating. The issue of law enforcement is it's a balance: What do you do to keep people safe but at the same time what do you do to not their rights?" Kenney said.
CBS3's Joe Holden and Alicia Roberts contributed to this report.
