Two of the five people who died in a seemingly random shooting in Philadelphia on Monday night were remembered by their families as a man who would try to help anyone he could and an adorable teenager who died trying to help his injured friend.
The five victims have been identified as Lashyd Merritt, 22; Dymir Stanton, 29; Ralph Moralis, 59; Daujan Brown, 15; and Joseph Wamah Jr., 31.
Two people, a 13-year-old boy and a 2-year-old boy, were shot in the legs and were listed as stable. The twin brother of the 2-year-old girl was injured in the eye by broken glass after the attacker fired at a vehicle in which they were traveling with his mother. And a 33-year-old woman was also injured by glass, police said.
The attack unfolded around 8:30 p.m. Monday in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood. Officers quickly pursued a suspect who was wearing a bulletproof vest and continued to fire before surrendering, police said.
Philadelphia Police Personnel Inspector Ernest Ransom said the suspect fired «aimlessly at occupied vehicles and people on the street as they walked.»
A 40-year-old man was being arrested and has not been charged.
This article will be updated as we learn more about the victims.
This is what we know so far:
Lashyd Merritt
Merritt was shot in the neighborhood he called home Monday, a family member said.
Nikki Merritt, a cousin, said Lashyd Merritt, 22, was shot down her front steps after she went out to get food.
«He was just going to the store to get his dinner for the night,» she said. «He lived three or four doors from where he was found. He grew up here.»
Lashyd Merritt attended West Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School before trying for college and settled on a full-time job, her cousin said.
He landed at the IRS as a service representative, he said.
«He was just a good guy overall,» he said. «He always supported and helped anyone. Family, friends. Anyone. If he thought he could help, he would.»
daujan brown
Daujan was the youngest victim killed. He was walking to a store Monday night when he was attacked, said his mother, Nashaya Thomas. NBC Philadelphia.
Daujan was shot while trying to help a 13-year-old friend who was shot twice in the legs and survived, he said.
«He was just trying to get help from his friend not knowing that the bullets have no names,» he told the station.
Thomas told NBC Philadelphia that his son was an adorable little boy.
«There was no way you could meet Daujan, have a conversation with him and not fall in love with him,» she said. «He lost his life trying to do a selfless act, and that’s how it was when he was here.»
Donna Mendell contributed.