Nine shot and one killed as gunman opens fire at party full of teenagers in Philadelphia
Nine people have been shot, one killed after a gunman opened fire in a hall filled with teenagers in Philadelphia.
The victims were celebrating the 18th birthday of a girl, reported local station WPVI.
Police said all those shot were aged between 15 and 20. It was reported that the person killed was a 19-year-old man.
Shooting: One person is dead after a gunman opened fire at the party full of teenagers at Minaret Temple No. 174 in Chester, Philadelphia
According to police, the shots rang out at a temple in the city of Chester where the party was being held. It is understood that the hall had been rented for the evening.
Officers were called to the Minaret Temple No. 174 just before 11:30 pm Friday and said they found 'numerous victims'.
A suspect was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning and two firearms were recovered from the scene.
Police said nine people were transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center, where one person died.
Two others were listed in critical condition and six were said to be stable.
Detectives are investigating the cause of the shooting.
Last summer, Mayor Wendell Butler declared a state of emergency in Chester and a 9 p.m. curfew was imposed in problem areas after a rash of shootings left four people dead in eight days.
The city, about 15 miles south of Philadelphia, had two dozen homicides last year, a 60 percent increase, four short of the all-time high number in 1993.
Police said the illegal drug trade was the source of much of the violence, while others have blamed easy access to firearms.
'There may be a group of individuals who, unfortunately, one of their friends is murdered ... and those folks think they have to retaliate,' Butler told the Delaware County Daily Times at the end of last year.
Butler said in his 'State of the City' address at the end of last month that the state of emergency and an anti-violence campaign helped stem the bloodshed and prompted an increase in residents providing information to police.
He touted a decrease in crime this year and a pilot project to install a new set of surveillance cameras in areas of high crime this summer.
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