Police tape hangs from a barricade at the corner of South and 3rd Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 5, 2022, the day after three people were killed and 11 others wounded by gunfire all within a few blocks. (Photo: AFP)
NEW YORK, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nine people have been hospitalized after a shooting Saturday night outside a bar in Philadelphia, the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, U.S. media reported.
At least nine people were injured in the gunfire, which erupted just before 11 p.m. ET outside a bar in the Kensington neighborhood, according to a CNN report.
"Multiple suspects" jumped out of a vehicle, opened fire on a crowd outside, and then fled in the vehicle, local police was quoted as saying.
Authorities were seeking the suspects, and five of the victims were listed in critical condition, the report said.
"The shooting took place in a high traffic area that was heavily patrolled by officers on Saturday night. A narcotics strike force had been conducting an operation further along the block earlier Saturday evening and officers from the team heard the shots," said the report.
There have been 585 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, defined as a shooting with four or more people injured, excluding the shooter, according to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive. At that rate, the number of mass shootings is likely to be similar to last year's total of 691, the report said.
