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Thousands of people were filmed fleeing in terror after gunfire rang out at a July 4 celebration and injured two cops, hours after a massacre in Chicago.
Dramatic video footage showed panicking people running away from the Welcome America Festival event close to the Philadelphia Museum of Art after the shooting, which left two officers with minor injuries.
Video shown by local news media showed people running for their lives upon hearing the gunshots. Hundreds ran screaming along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, looking for cover.
The gunfire broke near the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the final day of a festival with a large number of people watching a fireworks show after a concert.
The crowd was spooked and made a mad dash away from the area where the shots rang out late into the evening.
News camera footage captured moments of pure chaos as scared revelers ran as fast as they could away from the scene.
Many were likely panicked at the thought of falling victim to another massacre like the one that unfolded in Chicago on Monday morning, which killed six people who were watching a July 4 parade in the Highland Park suburb.
A view from a Philadelphia apartment block sees hundreds of people stampeding away from the sound of gunfire
The streets below were full of people running away as fast as they possibly could
Police respond to a shooting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at July 4 celebrations
The crowd was spooked by the sounds of gunshots and began sprinting away
News camera footage captured a moment of pure chaos as scared revelers made a dash for it
Josh Holden, a reporter for CBS3 described the scene as ‘terrifying’
‘It was pure chaos. I was right there,’ wrote Lanie Marlin on Twitter.
Those who managed to run away darted around the closest corner for cover where they were felt safe. Meanwhile, police instructed people in surrounding buildings to shelter in place.
Members of the crowd, including families with young children out for an evening of fun, could be seen running down the street in terror away from gunfire. People ran in all directions once the gunshots were heard among a crowd already nervous following the deadly shooting in Chicago earlier on Monday.
Josh Holden, a reporter for CBS3 described the scene as ‘terrifying’.
‘People run for blocks from the Welcome America Festival on the Ben Franklin Parkway after two police officers were shot while working in the area. A truly terrifying scene on what was supposed to be a night of celebration,’ he tweeted.
‘A 44-year-old officer assigned to Montgomery Co. Bomb Squad was shot in shoulder, while a 36-year-old Highway Patrol Officer has a graze wound to the head,’ Holden elaborated with the bullet lodged in the officers hat.
Both officers were part of the security detail for the festival and were transported to Jefferson Hospital in stable condition, according to police. There followed a heavy police presence at the hospital.
Both officers were released in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
According to police sources, the shooter or shooters were not in a position of high ground or firing from a building.
It’s unclear what triggered the gunfire, and a hunt for the suspect continues.
The shootings plunged the city’s July 4th festivities on the Parkway into chaos, with people running from the area.
Fireworks continued to go off as officers could be heard on police radio requesting the fireworks show be shut down as officers responded to the chaos.
‘It was pure chaos. I was right there,’ wrote Lanie Marlin on Twitter.
‘There were fences blocking the way. There were cops yelling run then there were cops sitting there doing nothing. People running In all directions. Others standing around no idea what was going on.
‘At first, it was very orderly. The police were just like ‘go this way, go this way.’ And then, that’s when they accelerated and they said ‘run, run, run. Don’t look back, run,” Hugh Dillon said to CBS3.
Both officers were in stable condition, CBS3 Philadelphia said, citing the police department. Police were still searching for the shooter late into the night.
People ran in all directions once the gunshots had run out among an already nervous crowd
A little girl can be seen in the arms of her mother as they race to leave the scene of a shooting
A police officer speaks on the phone while surveying the area following a shooting
‘There is a security incident on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway,’ emergency authorities said, referring to the shooting.
‘I didn’t hear the shots, but the cops were like, `Run, run, run,´’ one woman told an NBC affiliate.
Even Philadelphia’s Democratic Mayor, Jim Kenney appeared visibly shaken by the incident.
‘I’m waiting for something bad to happen all the time, so I’ll be happy when I’m not here, when I’m not mayor and can enjoy some stuff.’
The Philadelphia shooting came hours after a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on families waving flags and children riding bikes at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, where six people were killed and over 36 were wounded.
In one online bio, Crimo boasted of having a net worth of $100,000. On his Spotify page, he has over 16,000 monthly listens, He is pictured as his rap alter-ego Awake
Robert ‘Bobby’ Crimo III, 22, was arrested after an hours long manhunt that involved local a local and federal authorities.
So far, two of his victims have been named a synagogue teacher called Jacki Sundheim and a 76 year-old grandpa called Nicolas Toledo.
The shooting send hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror in the affluent community of about 30,000 on Chicago’s north shore.
The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day for the annual celebration.
Dozens of fired bullets sent hundreds of parade-goers – some visibly bloodied – fleeing.
The July 4 shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life.
Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months.
This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together.
Empty chairs sit along the sidewalk after parade-goers fled Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade after shots were fired, Monday, July 4, 2022 in Chicago
