PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The man accused in the fatal shooting spree in Philadelphia that left five people dead and four others wounded Monday night left a will at his house, and according to a roommate, had acted agitated and wore a tactical vest around his house in the days before the shooting, prosecutors said Wednesday.
In his first court hearing on Wednesday morning, 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker was charged with 11 total offenses and several counts of each.
In addition to murder, Carriker is also facing charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without valid permit.
He is being held without bail for the murders.
“Public safety is clearly an issue. There are no set conditions to ensure the safety of the community,” Judge Naomi Williams said.
Carriker is also facing charges related to several other victims of the shooting. That includes a 33-year-old woman, both of her 2-year-old twins, a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old boy.
The woman and her twins were inside a Jeep Cherokee when they were injured. Investigators say Carriker fired multiple shots into the Jeep.
They say the 33-year-old female driver and one of the 2-year-old boys sitting in the backseat suffered cuts from flying glass.
The other 2-year-old boy was shot in the leg.
Officials say the 10-year-old, who was in the passenger seat of the Jeep, was not injured when Carriker opened fire. However, they say the child’s life was put in danger and therefore is included with the victims.
Investigators say a police officer jumped into the Jeep and drove them all to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for treatment.
The injured 13-year-old boy was walking on the street when he was shot multiple times in the leg.
Carriker lives in the 5600 block of Belmar Terrace, which is just a few blocks from Monday’s shooting scene.
Sources say the suspect made disturbing posts on social media prior to the gunfire. Sources say Carriker, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, owned the ghost guns used in this mass shooting.
Joanne Pescatore, supervisor of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office’s Homicide and Non-Fatal Shooting Unit, said at least one of the seven roommates who lived with Carriker told investigators he was wearing the vest in the days before the shooting and had the guns in the house. Pescatore said the roommate described him as being more and more agitated over the past few days.
“Their way of dealing with it was just to avoid contact with him … as he became more and more agitated,” she said at a news conference Wednesday, just a few blocks from where the shootings took place.
Law enforcement sources tell Action News his family had been concerned about his mental health issues for years.
Family members told police Carriker would often go on rants about Biblical terms.
One law enforcement official says Carriker views himself as “a police crusader and an ally to law enforcement,” which they believe explains why he didn’t shoot back at any officers during his arrest.
District Attorney Larry Krasner declined to discuss Carriker’s mental health when asked whether it might have played a role in the killings, but said he expected that the defense would request an evaluation.
A representative of the Defender Association of Philadelphia said he believed the office would be representing Carriker and declined immediate comment on the charges.
Prosecutors said they recovered a handgun, a will dated June 23 and other evidence during a search of the Carricker’s home. They declined to discuss details of the will or whether it gave any indication Carrick had been planning the attack between then and the shooting 10 days later.
This is not the first time Carriker has had run-ins with the law. The suspect has misdemeanor drug and gun charges from 2003, which led to probation.
SEE ALSO | Mother of Philadelphia mass shooting victim: ‘It breaks my heart’
Carriker’s next court date is scheduled for July 24.
On Tuesday, police released the names of the five people who were killed:
- Dejuan Brown, 15
- Lashyd Merritt, 22
- Dymir Stanton, 29
- Joseph Wamah, Jr., 31
- Ralph Moralis, 59
“What happened (Monday) night in our Kingsessing neighborhood was unimaginably disgusting and horrifying,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at Tuesday’s news conference.
It all started around 8:30 p.m. Monday, on the eve of Independence Day, in the area of 56th Street and Chester Avenue in the southwestern part of the city.
Police say people called 911 to report a shooting and others flagged down officers.
Action News obtained security video being used in the investigation believed to show the shooter firing a high-powered rifle toward the Jeep at the intersection.
Police say at least 50 shots were fired at the scene and multiple vehicles were struck.
Arriving officers found gunshot victims at the scene. As officers began to put the victims in their patrol cars to take them to the hospital, they heard more gunfire and ran towards the sound. That’s where they encountered Carriker.
Police say officers were able to chase down and corner Carriker in the rear alley of 1600 Frazier Street. Police say the suspect was wearing a bulletproof vest and had multiple magazines. Carriker also had a police scanner, an AR-style rifle and a handgun, investigators say.
Police say there is no known connection between the victims and the shooter, and investigators do not yet know a motive for the gunfire.
Asa Khalif, a member of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, said Wednesday there have since been hateful comments aimed at transgender people because of photos the shooter posted on social media wearing what appeared to be women’s attire. He called the comments hateful, violent and misdirected.
“The suspect has not identified themselves as trans. They have only identified themselves as male,” Khalif said. “But the language spewed out by the conservative press is violent and dangerous and targeting trans women of color. It’s rallying the community to be violent.”
Residents were shocked to learn their neighbor is accused of this violence.
“He speaks to everybody. He helps out with everybody,” one neighbor said. “If you parked on the curb and the cop comes, he’ll knock on your door and tell you like they’re about to give you a ticket or whatever.”
Mayor Jim Kenney said Tuesday that “this country needs to examine its conscience and find out how to get guns out of dangerous people’s hands.”
“A person walking down the street with an AR-style rifle and shooting randomly at people while wearing a bulletproof vest with multiple magazines is disgraceful, but an all too common situation in America,” Kenney continued.
Police say a second person, a brother of one of the shooting victims, was taken into custody Monday night after allegedly firing shots at the mass shooting suspect. That person has since been released. Krasner said Tuesday it appears, at this point, that the person’s actions were justified.
Family, friends remember the victims
Investigators initially believed four people were killed. The fifth victim, Wamah, lived alone and wasn’t found until several hours after the shooting. Investigators believe Wamah was the first victim killed.
The sisters of 31-year-old Wamah described their brother as a loving man and a skilled sketch artist.
“I’m going to miss that beautiful smile, I really am. He had the best hugs, he took care of his family,” said Josephine Wamah.
Tyrique Glasgow, a mentor and founder of Young Chances Foundation is left mourning the loss of two people – the youngest and eldest victims.
“It hurts I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” he said.
His cousin, 59-year-old Ralph Moralis was excited to walk his daughter down the aisle in her wedding next week.
“He was the one that regardless of any family function had that smile,” Glasgow said.
Glasgow was a mentor to 15-year-old Dejuan Brown, who died while protecting his 13-year-old friend from gunfire.
Action News spoke to Marie Merritt who said her son Lashyd was a good kid who loved his job, his girlfriend and nieces and nephews.
“You didn’t have to ask him to get anything for Christmas. This man would just have it. (The kids) would say ‘Shyd! Shyd! Shyd!’ They are going to miss all of that,” Marie said just hours after her 22-year-old son was gunned down.
Marie said Lashyd, the youngest of five siblings, was happy. She said he had the perfect job that he loved and the family was waiting for him to marry his girlfriend.
“All the stuff that goes on in Philadelphia. He wasn’t a part of that. The violence, he wasn’t part of that,” Marie said. “So young and so bright.”
Marie didn’t have too many words to say about the suspect, but she made her message clear.
“You took my son. You took my baby…My message to him – you didn’t have to do what you did. Whatever thoughts, whatever was going on in your head, you should’ve gotten help. You should leave people alone and get some help,” she said.
An interfaith prayer vigil will be held Wednesday night at the Salt and Light Church in Kingsessing as memorials and vigils are planned to honor the dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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