After making an initial arrest last week, authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a second suspect in the July 7 mass shooting in Grays Ferry that left three people dead and nine injured.
Police on Friday identified and released a photograph of 24-year-old Christopher Battle, who is wanted in connection with the incident. He had not been apprehended at the time Metro went to print Sunday.
Terrell Frazier, 22, was taken into custody last week after authorities searched his West Philadelphia home, officials said Thursday. He was the first person charged in the case.
Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said investigators are not sure who Frazier killed or injured, but they believe he is among a group of individuals who unloaded more than 140 bullets on the 1500 block of S. Etting Street.
Frazier has been charged with three counts of murder, nine counts of attempted murder and a host of other offenses. No defense attorney was listed in court records as of Sunday.
“This arrest is not the end of this investigation,” Vanore told reporters at an Aug. 7 briefing. “We are very close on a few others, and we believe other charges are forthcoming.”
Evidence recovered from the scene indicates that 13 weapons were fired during the shooting, which happened just before 1 a.m. as 100 to 200 people gathered outside for a party.
Detectives do not believe there was any argument or opposing group that showed up. Instead, Vanore said, they think someone fired a weapon – possibly up into the air in celebration – triggering a spate of “contagious gunfire.”
The bullets killed 23-year-old Zahir Wylie, 19-year-old Jason Reese and 24-year-old Azir Harris, according to authorities.
Nine other people between the ages of 15 and 24 were struck and required treatment. Vanore said those victims have since been treated and released from the hospital.
A night before the shooting, police were called to break up a rowdy crowd on the same block of Etting, according to investigators. Two people were arrested for assaulting officers, and Frazier was pictured jumping on top of a PPD cruiser, Vanore said.
Law enforcement believes the party reconvened 24 hours later. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, said officers were monitoring the get-together but left to respond to another incident when the shots erupted.
The deadly gunfire occurred during a violent Fourth of July weekend in the city that included a separate mass shooting that left eight people wounded in South Philadelphia.
Anyone with information about Battle or the Etting Street shooting is asked to contact the PPD’s Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or call or text the tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
Counseling, peer support, and victim advocacy services are available for victims, family members, and others affected by gun violence. Go to metrophiladelphia.com/gun-violence-resources for more information.
