PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Investigators are pulling together a profile of the man accused of killing five people and wounding four others in Kingsessing on Monday night. Prosecutors offered more details about the investigation at a news conference Wednesday, just a few blocks from where the shootings took place.
Prosecutors said Kimbrady Carriker, 40, had a will drawn up about a week before police say he fired randomly at people and moving vehicles near 56th Street and Chester Avenue.
Carriker was arraigned Wednesday morning on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons counts of possession without a license and carrying firearms in public, prosecutors said.
He is accused of killing Daujan Brown, 15; Lashyd Merritt, 20, Dymir Stanton, 29; Joseph Wamah, Jr.; and Ralph Moralis, 59. All were shot multiple times, and died Monday night along 56th Street near Chester Avenue.
Police initially took into custody another person who had fired shots at Carriker Monday night. However, prosecutors said Wednesday that person legally possessed a firearm and fired at Carriker after his brother was shot. He was released without charges.
What investigators found
“In addition to the AR-15 the defendant had on him when he committed these atrocities, he had an additional handgun, a 9mm handgun, which was a ghost gun, which is not traceable,” said Bob Wainwright, the assistant district attorney handling the case. “That gun does not appear to have been fired during the rampage.”
Police said Carriker lived in the neighborhood and has one prior gun conviction. Court records show Carriker pleaded guilty in January 2005 to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm without a license and was sentenced to three years of probation.
How he got these guns is still under investigation. Prosecutors say they are digging into troubling social media posts and his personal history.
Prosecutors declined to discuss details of the will, dated June 23, or whether it gave any indication Carriker had been planning the attack between then and the shooting 10 days later.
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.
“That was the norm for him — wearing this vest and having guns in this house — but they all described that he was becoming more and more agitated over the last couple of days,” Pescatore said.
Related
“I believe they thought he was getting more and more agitated as the days were passing. And, their way of dealing with it was just to avoid it and not interfere with him, even though they all lived in the same house.”
Pescatore said getting help for someone who is acting unusual might help avoid tragedies like the one Monday night.
“And I am not blaming anyone, but if anyone out there has such a situation as this, maybe, maybe, just call — call anonymously,” she said, “and maybe he could have gotten help before this became what it did.”
Call somebody before something like this happens, because people are aware of these things. “Call the police. Call 911. Call somebody to get help,” she said.
Related
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 will request a mental health evaluation.
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."
"There are some people for whom hate is a full-time job, and if they can stay away from the facts and talk about hate, that's what they do," Krasner said.
In Pennsylvania, there is no bail set for a murder charge, so Carriker will remain behind bars at least through the trial. His preliminary hearing is set for later this month but is expected to be postponed.
Related
The Associated Press contributed to this report.