Police searching for gunmen in deadly West Philadelphia mass shooting that left 9 shot, 3 dead
Detectives are now looking for suspects and a motive in the shooting.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia's mayor and police commissioner held a news conference on Monday following a deadlymass shooting over the weekend.
Nine people were shot during what officials called an illegal block party in West Philadelphia. Three of those victims did not survive.
"Our administration is going to be relentless about showing up in every community, every time to say it is never ok to put an entire neighborhood at risk like this," said Mayor Cherelle Parker.
WATCH: Officials give update on deadly West Philadelphia mass shooting
It was just after 2 a.m. Sunday when police received nearly a dozen calls about the shooting.
More than 100 people were attending the block party when a fight and argument escalated to gunshots.
Altogether nine people, between the ages of 23 and 33 were shot, three of them fatally.
Police say two of the fatally shot victims were brothers.
"My condolences to the family, particularly the parent who lost two sons," said Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel. "It was not some individual who came up and just randomly started to shoot down the block and shoot nine people. There is an absolute gun battle that goes on, for, though it seems long, it was a short period of time."
Investigators say they have viewed surveillance video that shows the violent shootout.
They've recovered three guns, one was recovered at an area hospital.
District Attorney Larry Krasner also spoke and said his office is ready to provide resources and support to survivors and others harmed by this incident.
"This tragedy reminds us that while gun violence continues to decline in Philly and nationwide, we as elected and community leaders still have much work to do," wrote Krasner in a statement.
Questions were answered and promises made as city officials and authorities vowed their support moving forward.
Action News spoke to one neighbor who believes more could have been done.
"Why didn't they stop it? That's my only question. Why didn't the police stop it?" asked Jermaine Butts about the party. "About 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. it was already going on. It wasn't that big at first, then it got bigger. As the police usually do at 8:30 p.m., they pull up, they blow their horns, tell people to clear the block and open it up. But that never happened."
Police say they need the public's help to identify, arrest, and hold accountable the people responsible for this tragedy.
