Kenney, Outlaw visit South Street where deadly mass shooting erupted

PHILADELPHIA - Days after a deadly mass shooting erupted along one of Philadelphia's most popular thoroughfares, Mayor Kenney and Commissioner Outlaw spoke to business owners shaken by the violence that left three dead and nearly a dozen injured.

"The cause is not the children being down here it’s the weapons and the access to them. Remove the weapons and it becomes a fist fight," said Michael Clark, a South Street business owner. 

Authorities believe the deadly mass shooting happened when a fist fight between three men escalated into a shooting. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said that two of the combatants, Gregory Jackson and Micah Towns, were both licensed to carry. 

Officials believe Jackson fired the first shot that critically wounded Towns, who returned fire and killed Jackson. The third man in the fracas, identified as a friend of Jackson's named Rashaan Vereen, was taken into custody Monday by U.S. Marshal's on several charges. 

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Amid the chaos, authorities said Quran Garner - believed to be a friend of Towns' - fired towards the brawl. According to investigators, Garner was armed with a ghost gun equipped with an extended magazine and pointed the weapon at approaching officers. 

Police shot Garner in the hand which caused him to drop the gun and flee the scene, according to authorities. It's believed that he ran to the scene of an unrelated shooting blocks away where he told officers that he was shot on South Street. 

Garner is facing charges, including two counts each of aggravated assault and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. The Philadelphia Police Department on Tuesday shared photos of a third suspect still being sought by police. 

Meanwhile, city leaders continued to get peppered with questions about how to quell the rampant gun violence that's plaguing Philadelphia. Some hope the South Street shooting that left three dead - including two innocent bystanders - and 11 wounded will serve as a catalyst for change ahead of a busy summer in the city. 

"We had events all last year-this didn’t happen. This situation was random," Kenney told FOX 29's Jeff Cole. He says neither Jackson or Towns should have been legally allowed to carry a firearm. 

While Kenney rightfully pointed out that there was not a mass casualty last summer like the one that erupted over the weekend, 2021 was still a historically bloody year for Philadelphia with over 560 homicides. 

Kenney has long called for tighter gun legislation from state and federal levels that he believes will help tamp down the raging gunfire. Commissioner Outlaw said illegal guns are rampant in the city and among her largest concerns. 

Meanwhile, in the wake of the mass shooting the Philadelphia Police Department said it examining how to retool its security measures on South Street.