2 dead in Memorial Day shooting in Philadelphia

WASHINGTON/LITTLE RIVER, South Carolina — Two people were killed and nine others, including three teenagers, injured in a shooting at Philadelphia's Fairmount Park on Memorial Day, police said on Tuesday.

All the nine injured in the Monday night shooting are in stable condition. A man and a woman were the deceased victims, a police officer told a media briefing.

A large number of adults were present at the park, according to the police.

"We have not recovered any weapons at this time," the officer said. No arrests have been made.

"This is significant. It's Memorial Day. We understand the significance of this event and we will make sure to provide an update on Tuesday."

Memorial Day, traditionally observed on the last Monday of May, is a federal holiday in the United States dedicated to honoring and mourning military personnel who have died in the performance of their duties.

In another incident, 10 people were shot during a fight that started after private boat hosting a holiday weekend party arrived at a dock on the South Carolina coast on Sunday night, authorities said.

No one died in the shooting in Little River around 9:30 pm, though some of the wounded were in critical condition, Horry County Police said in a statement.

At least one person was taken to the hospital who was not hurt by gunfire, police said.

The shooting happened around a dock where private charter boats leave for cruises. The boat in question was docked and detectives are trying to figure out exactly where the fight and shooting began, police said.

An online flyer advertised a party on Sunday night with a DJ on a three-hour cruise ending at 9 pm. A woman who answered a phone number on the flyer early on Monday said she was distraught seeing her friends get shot but then said she did not want to talk any more and hung up.

Someone who answered the phone at the company that owns the boat said he did not want to talk to a reporter.

No arrests have been made as detectives continue to investigative, police said.

Randy Evans told a Charleston newspaper that his 25-year-old son was shot in the ankle and toe but managed to use his bathing suit as a makeshift tourniquet to help people who were more severely injured.

"The surgery was better than they expected," Randy Evans told The Post and Courier after his son did not need pins in his foot or ankle. "He's going to be OK."

Evans said his son told him that an argument turned ugly after the boat docked.

A North Myrtle Beach police officer responding to the shooting accidentally shot himself in the leg at a marina about 5 kilometers away and is in the hospital in stable condition, North Myrtle Beach spokeswoman Lauren Jessie said.

Agencies via Xinhua