World

At least three people shot at Eid event in Philadelphia

The shooting happened in an area where residents were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Police and officials gather on a cordoned off street at the scene of a shooting in Philadelphia (Claudia Lauer/AP)
Police and officials gather on a cordoned off street at the scene of a shooting in Philadelphia (Claudia Lauer/AP) (Claudia Lauer/AP)

At least three people were shot and injured at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia, police have said.

The shooting occurred at around 2.30pm local time, when police at the scene heard about 30 gunshots, Philadelphia police commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference.

Two groups of people started firing at each other, and people began fleeing the scene, he said.

People speak to police following a shooting at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
People speak to police following a shooting at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) (Monica Herndon/AP)

Officers took into custody four males and a female, and four weapons were recovered at the scene, Mr Bethel said.

One suspect, a 15-year-old boy who police said had a gun, was shot by police and sustained wounds to his shoulder and leg.

Join the Irish News Whatsapp channel

A man was also shot in the stomach, and another juvenile had a wound to his hand.

No-one was killed, police said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the shooting.

Zania Weatherford, who said she has been coming to the festival for about six years, said she was in the park enjoying the celebration and had gone to her car “for a minute” when she heard 20-30 gunshots and saw people running across the street from the park.

She said she stayed in her car, scared and unsure of what to do, then called relatives who were also at the event to make sure they were safe.

People clean up debris at the scene of a shooting at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia (Matt Rourke/AP)
People clean up debris at the scene of a shooting at an Eid al-Fitr event in Philadelphia (Matt Rourke/AP) (Matt Rourke/AP)

“Last year, someone set off firecrackers and scared everyone,” Ms 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.”

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 al-Fitr means the feast, or festival, of breaking the fast.