Philly Mass Shooter Pleads Guilty To 5 Murder Counts

PHILADELPHIA — The fate of Kimbrady Carriker has been determined about two and a half years after a deadly mass shooting in Philadelphia.

Carriker, 43, pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to five counts of third-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder, and firearm violations in connection with the July 3, 2023, mass shooting.

He was sentenced to 37-and-a-half to 75 years in prison, according to court records.

Killed in the shooting were Lashyd Merritt, 20; Dymir Stanton, 29; Ralph Moralis, 59; Daujan Brown, 15, and Joseph Wamah Jr., 31, all of Philadelphia. Two other, ages 2 and 15, were injured, one shot in the leg, and the other getting glass in his eyes from a window shattered by gunfire, police said.

The shooting was reported at 8:28 p.m. July 3, 2023, in the area of the 1600 block of South 56th Street.

Philadelphia Police officers were tending to victims when they heard more gunfire near 56th Street and Kingsessing Avenue.

Some of the officers ran toward the gunfire, and as they chased the man, allegedly Carriker, he continued to fire.

Police finally arrested Carriker in an alley off South Frazier Street, police said.

Carriker was armed with an AR-15 rifle and a 9mm handgun and wearing a ballistic vest and carrying a police scanner, authorities said.

A second person who was initially detained after firing a weapon was released, as it appears he was firing in self-defense.

Philadelphia authorities said they found a handwritten will in Carriker's home on Belmar Terrace in Southwest Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the note delegated his assets, including the home, vehicle, computer, rifle, and other weapons.

In his home, investigators found a long gun with no serial number, a black polymer 80 9mm handgun (AKA a ghost gun), sixty-one .223 fired cartridge casings, nine 9MM fired cartridge casings, and two projectiles.

Additionally, authorities said relatives told investigators that Carriker had become increasingly agitated in the days preceding the shooting.

According to authorities, he had been wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying firearms around his home recently.

The Inquirer reports Carriker was described as a "biblical extremist" by a relative.

The DA's office said despite some reports of Carriker being transgender, Carriker identifies as a male.