Shots rang out in a social hall in suburban Philadelphia where a teenage party was being held, killing one person and sending eight others to the hospital, two of them in critical condition, authorities said Saturday.
Police in the city of Chester said a suspect was taken into custody after officers were called to the Minaret Temple No. 174 just before 11:30 p.m. Friday, where “numerous victims” were found.
Police said nine people were transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center, where one person died. Two others were listed in critical condition on Saturday and six were said to be stable, a hospital spokesman said.
Police said the hall had been rented for a party, and many teenagers were present when the shots were fired. Detectives were investigating the cause of the shooting and declined to release further information.
Last summer, Mayor Wendell Butler declared a state of emergency and a 9 p.m. curfew was imposed in problem areas after a rash of shootings left four people dead in eight days. Police said the drug trade was the source of much of the violence.
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, the Delaware County Daily Times reported.