Gunman who killed 5 people in Kingsessing mass shooting in 2023 sentenced to up to 75 years in prison

The man who fatally shot five people and injured several others in Kingsessing over a two-day span in July 2023 was sentenced Wednesday to 37 1/2 to 75 years in prison. The sentence is part of a plea deal offered by prosecutors.

Kimbrady Carriker, 43, pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors offered the plea deal fearing that a jury may find him not guilty by reason of insanity, 6ABC reported. They said the sentence amounts to a life sentence. 

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“Realistically, the 75 years and the amount of time you would expect him to actually serve would be well beyond any normal life expectancy,” prosector Bob Wainwright told 6ABC.

Carriker’s attorneys were prepared to argue at trial that he should be placed in a secure psychiatric facility rather than face prison time, because he was legally insane when he carried out the mass shooting, the Inquirer reported.

Gregg Blender, assistant defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, told the Inquirer that Carriker suffered from “severe delusions and religious preoccupations” and that he “had a fixed illusion that he was working for the National Security Agency.”

On July 3, 2023, Carriker used an AR-15-style rifle to shoot people at random at 56th Street and Chester Avenue, investigators said. He was wearing a ski mask and bulletproof vest as he fatally shot Dajuan Brown, 15, Lashyd Merrit, 20, Dymir Stanton, 29, and Ralph Moralis, 59. He wounded five others, including a 2-year-old and 13-year-old. 

Nearly 48 hours earlier, Carriker had fatally shot Joseph Wamah Jr., 31, on 56th Street, but his body was not found until after the July 3 shooting. Police said that they had been notified of the earlier shooting at the time, but that they were dispatched to the wrong address. 

Carriker was arrested on the 1600 block of South Frazier Street. Investigators said he had displayed erratic behavior on social media before the shooting, posting an advertisement for tactical weapons and echoing messages about “loss of freedoms.” Carriker allegedly confessed to the shootings, telling police that he was trying to clean up the neighborhood.

In the weeks after the shooting, Carriker was found unfit to stand trial by a court-appointed psychiatrist. He was required to complete 60 days of inpatient mental health treatment before he could stand trial.