Kensington Mass Shooting: Philadelphia Commissioner, Mayor, DA Criticized Over Rising Crime

A violent incident in Kensington, Philadelphia, has drawn focus to the neighborhood's long-running drug and gun problem. Nine people were shot outside a club near Kensington and Alleghany Avenues despite heavy police presence in the area. At least three people jumped out of a vehicle and fired into the crowd at around 10:45 p.m. Saturday.

Eight men and one woman were wounded after the perpetrators shot at least 40 shots into the crowd. Four of the men remained in critical condition at the Temple University Hospital as of Sunday evening.

No weapons were recovered, no arrests were made, and police couldn't determine the motive behind the shooting immediately, Philadephia Inquirer reported.

"Officers were out in this area. In fact, they heard the gunshots when they occurred," said First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford with the Philadelphia Police Department, reported 6ABC. "We have some brazen individuals in this city that don't care. They don't care how many police officers are out here, and some of them don't care in terms of how many people are out here."

This incident brought the neighborhood's tainted reputation into focus, and the city's police faced criticism on social media. People pointed out the lack of action toward addressing the crime crisis and rehabilitating the neighborhood.

Philadephia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said they will investigate the incident. "Do not believe for one moment that because last night's shooting occurred in the Kensington Community that @PhillyPolice will not investigate this heinous crime as vigorously as we do in other parts of the city; members of the Kensington Community...," she tweeted.

"Members of the Kensington Community deserve nothing less. The women and men of @PPD24Dist under the command of Cpt. Pedro Rosario, are passionate about their work," her follow-up tweet read.

Outlaw's tweets drew severe criticism online and people dissected a photograph she posted of herself at the crime scene, flanked by other officers. District Attorney Larry Krasner and Mayor Jim Kenney received heat in the aftermath of the violent shooting.

"The fact that you have to say that shows how @PhillyMayor have [sic] failed Kensington. You have done very little for the neighborhood as well, absolutely tragic that the drug market and everything that stems from it is condoned and accepted as normal," a tweet read.

"Honestly commish, it likely was preventable. If the city wasn't unraveling out of control due to its unholy trinity of you, Krasner, and Kenney.......hundreds of shootings, this one included, may not have happened," read another tweet.

This was a deadly weekend for Philly residents; at least 25 people fell victim to gun violence across the city. It began with a double shooting on the 2600 block of North Bancroft Street in the late hours of Friday. One person was critically injured while the other was said to be stable.

Saturday saw multiple shootings including a 41-year-old man who was shot six times, a 22-year-old woman who was shot in the chest in Southwest Philly, and the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy who was shot in the head by his cousin while shooting a video," Fox29 reported.

The mass shooting was reported shortly after, but crime kept surging after word got out. Five more shootings took place that night leading into Sunday morning. At least five people were injured, including a 16-year-old boy. Sunday turned out to be as tragic with at least 5 shooting incidents being reported across the city.