Five people were taken into custody after gunfire erupted during an Eid celebration in Philadelphia, where around 1000 people had gathered to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Among the suspects are three men, one woman and a 15-year-old boy who was shot by police when he refused to drop his weapon.

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told members of the media that the suspects were arrested after ‘young people actively engaged in gunfire’ near the Eid al-Fitr celebration at Clara Muhammad Square.

Officers were ticketing cars parked at a nearby gas station when violence first broke out around 2:30 p.m. Around 30 gunshots were fired, according to Bethel.

He explained that the shooting occurred between ‘two factions’ at the event, which was held near the Philadelphia Masjid mosque.

Three men and a woman attempted to flee the scene but were promptly stopped by police, who recovered four weapons.

An officer spotted the 15-year-old holding a gun and ordered him to drop it twice before opening fire, hitting him in the leg and stomach.

She loaded the wounded teen into her patrol car and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was in stable condition as of Wednesday evening.

A total of five weapons were recovered from the scene.

‘When we see individuals beefing and going at each other, oftentimes, they don’t care where they see each other,’ Bethel said.

‘In this case, clearly, they saw something going on in the park. What that was caused two factions to start to pull out guns and shoot at each other.’

A 22-year-old man identified as Nhashon Tawfiq Richards sustained a gunshot to his stomach, while another teenager was shot in the hands.

Bethel noted that a child was struck by a police vehicle as she attempted to flee and suffered a fractured leg.

‘Clearly we send our prayers out to her and her family,’ the police commissioner said.

‘That is not our intended purpose and we will make sure we will be following up with her and her family to let them know that.’

He praised civilians who ‘grabbed kids and got them out of harm’s way’ and said it was ‘very, very fortunate’ that there were no casualties.

‘I walked through this event and we know that the majority, 99 percent of the individuals at this event, are good people who wanted to have a good time,’ Bethel said.

‘And once again we have young people engaging in gunfire who just really destroyed the sanctity of what happened.’ 

Around 1000 people were present at the event to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Among those in attendance were NBA player Mo Bamba and Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents Philadelphia’s third district.

Eid al-Fitr, which translates to ‘festival of breaking the fast,’ follows a month of daily fasting from sunrise to sunset for devout Muslims.

Corey Taylor, the father of the wounded 22-year-old, told NBC10 that he was ‘tired of all the violence and nonsense.’

‘We can do better as a people, as all Homo sapiens, human beings,’ Taylor professed.

‘That we need to do better, love one another and we all can live in prosperity, peace and harmony and stop hating one another.

‘People’s lives are priceless. Appreciate and value your life. I love my son. I love my children. I love society. Anyone can get their life together. Anyone can!’

Movita Johnson-Harrell, a Philadelphia-based motivational speaker, was handing out candy and Eid gifts when shots rang out.

‘It was, for the most part, a beautiful celebration,’ she said on a Facebook Live filmed from inside her car.

‘If these kids knew what Islam was they would not be fighting each other. Islam is a religion of peace. We are one community.’

Local leaders issued messages to members of the community in the wake of the senseless violence.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman reported that he had ordered an increased police presence at mosques in the area as a safety precaution.

‘Although there is no direct threat to Nassau County due to the shootings in Philadelphia, I have ordered increased patrols around Mosques throughout the County to protect our residents,’ Blakeman said in a statement.

‘The public is reminded to call 911 immediately if they see or hear anything threatening or suspicious.’

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey tweeted urged locals to ‘stay safe and listen to law enforcement’ in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The shooting remains under investigation. Local law enforcement are collaborating with federal partners including the ATF and FBI.