3 shooters involved in mass shooting at Lemon Hill in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, officials say
Philadelphia police have identified the man and woman killed in the mass shooting at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park on Monday night.
Amya Devlin, 23, and Mikhail Bowers, 21, were killed and nine people were injured — all between 15 and 28 years old — in the shooting on the 800 block of Lemon Hill Drive, near the Lemon Hill mansion, just before 10:30 p.m.
All of the wounded were reported to be in stable condition, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said early Tuesday morning.
The victims were taken to several hospitals, including Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Temple University Hospital and Lankenau Medical Center.
One other person was taken to the hospital after being hit by a car in the chaos, police said.
Investigators are looking at several videos posted to social media that may reveal more about the shooters.
3 shooters believed to be involved, Philadelphia leaders say
Bethel said the shooting occurred while different groups of people were gathered in the park, some beginning to pack up to leave.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said three different types of shell casings were found at the scene.
"I was unfortunately informed that because they found three different types of casings, we know that there were three shooters thus far. So it is not one," Parker said.
Bethel said it's not clear whether there was an exchange of gunfire involved.
No weapons have been recovered and no one has been arrested, police said.
Police said several cars were abandoned in the area of the shooting, including a blue Dodge that had been reported stolen. It's unknown if the car is connected to the shooting.
TikTok video where gunshots can be heard is part of investigation, police sources say
Investigators are looking at multiple social media videos that have captured the shooting.
"We can hear multiple rounds from stuff that's been already posted on social media, the team will dissect that," Bethel said.
Sources in the department say this video posted on TikTok is one of the videos under investigation connected to the shooting.
In the video linked above — filmed from inside a car apparently driving near Fairmount Park — loud popping noises can be heard, likely gunshots. The driver then honks and people can be seen running. A voice in the background can be heard remarking that it sounds like a "switch" was used. Warning: the video contains profanity.
Law enforcement sources said the investigation is leading toward the shooting being targeted and trying to determine who was going after whom.
If that direction of the investigation holds, Bethel wasn't yet ready to talk about it publicly. In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, he said it wasn't clear whether the shooting was targeted.
Officers were already in the area when the shooting occurred, after being called out around 8:15 p.m. to break up a large crowd. But that was a slow process, with several people and vehicles on the scene. Officers were still working to clear people out around 10:30 p.m., when the shots rang out with officers maybe 100 feet away, according to Bethel.
Gun "switch" may have been used in Fairmount Park shooting
Crime Scene Unit investigators will examine the shell casings and get an idea of how many shooters were involved and what caliber weapons they were using, Bethel said. He was confident that one of the weapons involved had a "switch" that would convert it from semi-automatic to fully automatic, capable of firing 17 rounds in under two seconds.
"It's pretty rapid fire, so we're pretty confident that there probably was a switch on this gun," Bethel said. "You cannot fire that many levels of bullets with such speed and time without it having some type of switch on it."
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recently told CBS News Philadelphia, "Glock switches" are becoming more common in their shooting investigations across the city.
The parts can be easy to install and tough to spot, and in some cases, can be made with a 3D printer.
"You can go through a magazine in seconds. This is war. If you get a chance to listen to the video, this is the sound of war," Bethel said. "It's meant to kill, to create carnage, and to hit as many people as possible."
Bethel noted in Tuesday's update that police are seeing fewer switches in 2025 compared with previous years, but admits they remain a challenge for law enforcement.
Parker was adamant that the city would not allow weapons like these to become the norm.
"We will not be held hostage by anyone who decides that they want to get assault-like, war-like weaponry, guns with switches. I hear the law-enforcement officials, our police department, they're listening to video, that it's not a handgun," Parker said.
At least 21 shell casings have been found at the scene.
Lemon Hill and Fairmount Park set to host major events in 2026 and this weekend
Bethel said some were concerned about security at the upcoming Roots Picnic, set to be held this weekend at the Mann Center across the Schuylkill River and within Fairmount Park.
Philadelphia police will have a significant deployment of officers at that event and leaders are confident the event will be safe, Bethel said. He said the same goes for FIFA's Fan Festival, set to be held on Lemon Hill in 2026.
"It's different when you have an unscheduled, unplanned event as we did ... overnight," Bethel said.
After the shooting, officers worked to disperse the crowd.
Police were in the park through Monday night into Tuesday morning investigating the shooting scene.
