Family Searching For Answers After Young Man Among Victims Of Quintuple Shooting At Popular Spring Garden Park
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The family of one of the two young men killed in a quintuple shooting at a popular park in Spring Garden says they don't know why he was targeted in such a violent fashion.
The basketball court at Roberto Clemente Park is now locked and covered with chalk circles showing where 55 shell casings fell in a spray of gunfire Wednesday night.
Khalilah Moore's eldest grandchild, Khallid Henderson, 21, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. He lived just two blocks away from the park and went there frequently.
"Khallid lived on that playground, he lived there," Moore, Henderson's grandmother, said. "Everyday, 'Grandma, I'll be back, I'm going to play basketball. I'm going to play basketball,' and he played up until the day he died."
Philadelphia police say just after 8 p.m., surveillance cameras at the park captured three men, all armed with large-caliber weapons, approaching the court at 18th and Wallace Streets and opening fire at Henderson, before aiming at his friends.
"This is an anomaly here in this particular area but for whatever reason, this young man was targeted," Chief Inspector Melvin Singleton said.
In all, five men between the ages of 18 and 21 were shot. Henderson and Jayden Lucas, 18, of Oxford Circle died from their injuries.
"It's the culture of violence that we've been seeing, these young men are not giving themselves a chance to live and that's problematic," Singleton said. "That's concerning for us. It's heartbreaking actually."
Moore says her grandson was an aspiring photographer about to start classes at Community College of Philadelphia. She says Henderson had no known enemies and she can't explain why this happened.
"That's why we're so startled, like what happened? What happened? What happened on that court? We just don't know," she said. "They said it was a playground full of people, full of kids, who would do that? What person in your right mind would shoot up a playground full of people?"
Wednesday night, officers detained a man who was running from the scene and had a gun in his car. However, police said Thursday that they are still looking for the three gunmen.
For a list of gun violence resources in Philadelphia, click here.
