Shooter in 2023 mass shooting in Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood pleads guilty
The man who shot and killed five people and wounded three others in the Kingsessing section of Philadelphia in 2023 has pleaded guilty and faces decades behind bars.
Kimbrady Carriker, 43, was accused of killing a man inside a home before shooting several people on the street near 56th Street and Chester Avenue.
As part of a plea deal, Carriker was sentenced to 37.5 to 75 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including third-degree murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses.
The shooting on July 3, 2023, killed 15-year-old Daujan Brown, 20-year-old Lashyd Merritt, 29-year-old Dymir Stanton, 31-year-old Joseph Wamah, Jr. and 59-year-old Ralph Moralis.
Police said at the time that Carriker was found with an AR-style rifle, a 9mm handgun, a bulletproof vest that held multiple magazines and a police scanner.
Jonah Wamah, whose brother Joseph died in the shooting, said he's not satisfied with this outcome.
"I believe he should be in there for a long, long time," Wamah said.
Rafiq Fitzgerald's son survived the mass shooting. Fitzgerald, who said his son is getting better physically, was relieved to avoid a trial.
"Mentally, he's still not there. He's holding on," Fitzgerald said. "That was one of the reasons why I was satisfied with the sentence today, so we didn't have to keep going to court."
Attorneys for Carriker said he had a mental health disease that prevented him from understanding what was going on.
Prosecutors said the plea agreement avoided possible complications at trial over Carriker's mental health.
"This was certainly a person who had serious psychological issues, and at the time of the murders, even when he was initially apprehended, his first words were, 'I'm out here helping you guys, I don't want blue-on-blue violence,'" said Assistant District Attorney Bob Wainwright.
Wainwright said that 37.5 to 75 years is "essentially a life sentence."
Carriker apologized to the court and to the victims Wednesday. He will be in his 80s by the time he is eligible for parole, Judge Glenn Bronson said.