PHILADELPHIA -
There was a spike in violence on the streets of Philadelphia this weekend. At least 13 people were shot, and four people are dead.
Among the deceased is a bartender who was fatally stabbed.
FOX 29's Steve Keeley was at Philadelphia Police Dept. headquarters on Monday morning with more details on the violence.
The city is dealing with a murder rate that is about 25 percent higher than it was last year.
On his way in to headquarters to huddle with all of his commanders, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey took a few minutes to talk about the violence.
"We're doing everything we can. We've got extra people out on the street doing everything we can. But we've got a lot of ignorant people with guns, and they don't hesitate to use them," Ramsey said.
"I mean, they're shooting up block parties, basketball games. I mean, come on, this is just absolutely crazy," the commissioner added.
Ramsey, who has been in police work since the 70s working in big cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., was asked if he's ever seen guns more prevalent in his whole life.
"No, I think Pennsylvania has a unique gun problem," Ramsey answered. "It's not just the number of guns. It's the illegal guns and the people who are willing to use them illegally."
"I'm not totally anti-gun, believe it or not. I mean, there are a lot of legitimate gun owners – most people are legitimate gun owners that use guns for sport and protection and things like that. But we've got a lot of idiots out here who get their hands on guns, and we're talking about 9-milimeters, .45s, .40-calibers multiple – when was the last time you've been to a crime scene where you found one shell casing?"
As bad as the weekend was, it could have been much worse. In two of the spots where shootings occurred, a basketball game and a block party, you had more than 100 people, including dozens of kids.
A cash reward system that was expanded in Philadelphia this year hasn't seemed to make many more people fear even disguising their deadly deeds, knowing that putting bullets into the dead is putting a lot of fear into the living, Keeley reported.
That's why police aren't getting a lot of calls. Even though you had a large crowd at that block party, police officers at the scene initially said no one was telling them anything.
