Lee esta historia en español aqui†
Police responded after two officers were shot near Benjamin Franklin Parkway as thousands of people celebrated a concert and fireworks display on July 4, multiple sources told NBC10.
One officer suffered a head abrasion and the other a gunshot wound to the right shoulder, sources told NBC10’s Rosemary Connors. Both were in stable condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the sources said.
Gunfire broke out around 9:47 p.m. near the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the final day of the Wawa Welcome America festival, as crowds watched a fireworks display after a concert headlined by Jason Derulo on the parkway, said the police.
The shots came from near 25th Street and Spring Garden Street, behind where the concert took place, Connors sources said. Several people from the area could be seen running. Police instructed people in surrounding buildings to take shelter.
“I didn’t hear the shots, but the police said, ‘Run, run, run,'” one woman told NBC10.
NBC10 had several reporters nearby covering the festival.
NBC10 reporter Leah Uko reported a “rush” of people rushing to the concert stage. Uko was interviewing a group of teenagers when an NBC10 cameraman captured the moments when people, including several visibly distressed children, started screaming and shattering.
She said she helped three people on stage and that they took cover behind a DJ stage. A man who spoke to the show’s director instructed them to stay there until it was safe enough to “rush back” to their vehicles, Uko said.
NBC10’s Tim Furlong said he saw a “wave of people” running from near Eakins Oval along the parkway. Several children cried during what were moments of confusion from the crowd and police officers on the scene, Furlong said.
Fellow reporter Karen Hua reported that he was in a tent with other people in the sand.
“We’ve made a fortress around us with catering equipment. Everyone is crying or screaming,” Hua tweeted.
The Philadelphia Police Department instructed those wishing to reunite with loved ones to meet at 1901 Vine St. in front of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Everyone was asked to stay away.
At around 11 p.m., police officers could be seen searching an area from the vicinity of 19th Street and the parkway as far as Eakins Oval.
Several people have sought shelter in the Parke Town Apartments, which are just off the parkway. They asked residents to “keep calm” during police activities “on the ground, throughout the community”. All of the complex’s towers were locked “until we have more information available,” the company said in an email.
Residents were allowed back inside later. Police officers at the complex told an NBC10 producer that their search there had nothing to do with the shooting.
Additional resources are available for people or communities who have experienced gun violence in Philadelphia. More information can be found here.
This is a story in development and will be updated.