The man accused of carrying out a shooting that left five dead and four wounded on Monday in Philadelphia left a will at his home, and according to a roommate, he appeared nervous and was wearing a tactical vest around the residence days before the shooting , prosecutors reported Wednesday.
Kimbrady Carriker was indicted Wednesday morning on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and crimes related to unlawful possession of weapons and carrying firearms in public, prosecutors said. The 40-year-old is accused of murdering a man who was later found inside a residence and then fatally shooting four other people before turning himself in to police.
A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy also suffered gunshot wounds, and another 2-year-old boy and a woman were struck by broken glass during the shooting, which turned a working-class area of ​​southwest Philadelphia into the scene of the worst act of violence surrounding the US Independence Day holiday.
Joanne Pescatore, a supervisor with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office's Non-Fatal Murder and Shooting Unit, said at least one of the seven people who shared a home with Carriker told investigators that he was wearing the vest on his days prior to the shooting and had the weapons inside the residence. Pescatore said that person described how the suspect seemed increasingly nervous in recent days.
"The way they were dealing with it was just to avoid contact with him ... as he became more and more agitated," Pescatore said at a news conference Wednesday a few blocks from the scene of the shootings.
District Attorney Larry Krasner declined to comment on Carriker's mental state when asked if it had been a factor in the slayings, but did say he expected the defense to request an evaluation.
A representative for the Philadelphia Public Defenders Association said he believed the office would be in charge of representing Carriker, but declined to comment further.
Prosecutors said they recovered a handgun, a will dated June 23 and additional evidence during an inspection of the suspect's residence. They declined to give details about the will or whether the document indicated that Carriker had been planning the attack.
Police initially detained another person who shot Carriker Monday night, but prosecutors said Wednesday that person legally possessed a firearm and shot Carriker after his brother was shot. She was released without charges being filed.
Court records show Carriker pleaded guilty in January 2005 to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm without a permit and was sentenced to three years probation.
