Videos posted on social media showed chaos as crowds in Philadelphia left the area as fireworks thundered off in the distance.
WASHINGTON — Two police officers were shot and killed in Philadelphia Monday night as thousands gathered for a Fourth of July concert and fireworks, authorities said. Both were treated and released from the hospital a couple of hours later.
The incident happened around 9:47 p.m. outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art as people watched fireworks near Benjamin Franklin Blvd. The festivities took place on the last day of the WaWa Welcome America festival.
Videos posted on social media showed crowds fleeing the area fireworks continued in the distance.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference that a 36-year-old Highway Patrol officer suffered a scratch on his forehead and a 44-year-old deputy with the Montgomery County Bomb Squad was shot in the shoulder.
Commissioner Outlaw said they are still investigating but won’t stop until someone is arrested. She added that they were grateful that the situation had not worsened.
The The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management issued the warning on Twitter that there was a “security incident” and ordered everyone to avoid the area.
Independence Day celebrations across the country have already been marred by a shooting on Monday morning that left at least six people dead and at least 30 injured at a parade in Illinois.
Authorities said Robert E. Krima III, 21, was named a person of interest in the shooting and was taken into custody Monday night after an hours-long manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 people on Chicago’s North Side. . .
The shooting happened at a spot along the parade route where many residents had staked out prime vantage points for the annual celebration earlier in the day. Dozens of bullets fired sent hundreds of marchers — some visibly bloodied — fleeing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
