By Brendan O’Brien
(Reuters) -The suspect arrested in Philadelphia in one of a series of mass shootings across the county over the Fourth of July weekend was arraigned in court on Wednesday on five murder counts and other charges and held without bail, according to media reports.
Identified as 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker, the suspect wore a bullet-proof vest and a ski mask when they shot victims at random with a AR-15 style rifle on Monday evening before being taken into custody, Philadelphia officials said on Tuesday.
The ages of the five men killed in the shooting range from 15 to 59 years old. The two injured children were aged 2 and 13, police said.
Authorities have yet to determine a motive, District Attorney Larry Krasner said during an interview on CNN on Wednesday. The suspect had no apparent connection with any of the victims, who were gunned down during a long holiday weekend that was marred by a rash of mass shootings in a country where gun violence has become nearly commonplace.
A total of 16 mass shootings unfolded across the nation from Friday evening until Wednesday morning, leaving 15 dead and 94 injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago)
