Police dispatch error led to delayed response in first killing tied to Kingsessing mass shooter

A dispatch error led Philadelphia police officers to respond to the wrong block along 56th Street after a man was murdered by the same gunman who would later kill four others in a mass shooting on that same block 44 hours later, according to investigators.

"We know that the updated information that we put out yesterday has caused additional questions and for some, some uncertainty to many who have been traumatized by this atrocity," said Danielle Outlaw, commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, during a press conference on Monday.

As detailed by Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore, officials received a 9-1-1 call at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, July 2, about an hour-and-a-half after a shooting occurred in a home on the 1600 block of South 56th Street.

But, instead of heading there, officers were dispatched three miles away to the 1600 block of North 56th Street -- where they found no evidence of a shooting.

NBC10 later obtained audio of the botched 911 call.

“Person with a gun. 1600 North 56^th Street,” the dispatcher says. “It’s gonna be gunshots heard from inside a home. Door is opened. Third party called in. Repeating. In the 19^th District. Person with a gun, 1600 North 56^th Street, gunshots heard from inside. Door is open. Third party called in. Nothing further.”

The confusion came to light, Vanore said, when officers were questioning neighbors in the days following the mass shooting. He said they encountered a witness who called 9-1-1 after Wamah was shot.

After tracking down the call, officers found video of the Sunday shooting that, Vanore said, shows an individual, believed to be Kimbrady Carriker, 40, engaged in a confrontation at a home on that block before he shot and entered the property where a man, later identified as Joseph Wamah Jr. was eventually found dead.

"It is the same defendant. We know it's Kimbrady Carriker, but, it did not happen on Monday, it happened on Sunday," Vanore said.

He said that video police have received shows a man, believed to be Carriker -- dressed similarly to the outfit the suspected shooter wore during the mass shooting -- and confronting Wamah at the door of a property, before he shot into the doorway several times and entered the home.

Vanore said that the shooter also shouted "something like sheriff," before the confrontation at the doorway.

Asked if officers could have prevented the mass shooting if they had gone to the correct block where Wamah was killed about 40-hours earlier, Outlaw said it wasn't likely.

"I caution individuals to go down that rabbit hole. We could woulda, coulda, shoulda, all day," she said.

Instead, Outlaw said that since the call came in about an hour-and-a-half after Wamah was shot multiple times, the 31-year-old man was likely dead by the time officers would have arrived as "the nature of the injuries were so severe."

She also said initial descriptions of the shooter were fairly vague in that incident.

"It's tragic, it's unfortunate and we don't like that we are adding to the atrocities that already occurred because now folks are second guessing our actions. But, the answer is we really don't know," said Outlaw. "We did what we could with what we had and, yes, there were some missteps."

She said there is an investigation ongoing into why officers were dispatched to the incorrect location.

"We are fully committed to learning from this incident and improving our response mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of our communities," said Outlaw.

Carriker was arraigned last week on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons counts of possession without a license and carrying firearms in public, prosecutors said. Carriker is accused of killing Wamah, who was later found dead inside a house, and then gunning down four others during a mass shooting 44 hours later before surrendering to police.

Aside from Wamah Jr., Philadelphia police identified the victims as Lashyd Merritt, 20; Dymire Stanton, 29; Ralph Morales, 59; and DaJuan Brown, 15 — all pronounced dead shortly after the Monday night gunfire.

A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old youth were also wounded by gunfire and another 2-year-old boy and a woman were hit by shattered glass in the rampage that made the working-class area in southwest Philadelphia the site of the nation’s worst violence around the July Fourth holiday.

Responses from officials

On Tuesday, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney responded to the report of the botched 911 call.

"I think 911 generally has been dependable and reliable," he said. "I don't know what happened but nothing's perfect."

Philadelphia's Citizens Police Oversight Commission also released a statement on the incident.

“We are monitoring the current investigation and will update the community on its progress,” they wrote.

Anthony Erace, the interim executive director of the commission, told NBC10 that police have been receptive to the agency's monitoring of the investigation. He also said they are waiting for the investigation to be completed before determining if police should release the full 911 call.