The man accused of committing Philadelphia’s Fourth of July shooting spree that left five people dead and multiple others injured allegedly killed one of the victims nearly two full days before the mass shooting, according to officials.
Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was arraigned Wednesday morning on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons counts of possession without a license and carrying firearms in public, The Associated Press reported.
One of the five victims, 31-year-old Joseph Wamah Jr., was initially thought to have been killed in a home during the shooting on Independence Day, but Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Sunday that Wamah’s body wasn’t immediately discovered by police because of an error.
Krasner’s office said it appears that Carriker killed Wamah approximately 44 hours earlier.
“It has been determined through information received through a source and corroborated by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office and additional evidence; that homicide victim Joseph Wamah, Jr. was killed by suspect Kimbrady Carriker approximately 44 hours before the mass shooting,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
Philadelphia police responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots at about 2 a.m. on July 2 on South 56th Street, which was about an hour and a half after police now believe Wamah was killed.
Wamah was not immediately located because police were mistakenly dispatched to North 56th Street.
“The grieving family of the deceased has been briefed on this new information, and I cannot express enough the sorrow I feel,” Krasner said.
The four killed in the shooting on the Fourth of July were all men between the ages of 15 and 59, according to police.
A 2-year-old and a 13-year-old were injured by gunfire while another 2-year-old and a woman were wounded by shattered glass.
The shooting in southwest Philadelphia was the worst violence across the country on the holiday.
