The rifle-wielding suspect who donned a bulletproof vest before allegedly shooting dead five men and injuring two children in Philadelphia has been identified as a Black Lives Matter supporter who shared gun-toting memes on social media.
Kimbrady Carriker, 40, was nabbed shortly after the bloodshed in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood Monday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, citing sources.
Cops haven’t yet publicly disclosed the suspect’s identity.
On his Facebook page, Carriker posted two pictures of him wearing a bra, a women’s top and earrings with his hair braided long in March, three months before the alleged shooting.
He also regularly posts about supporting Black Lives Matter, including supporting workers who protested in the Strike For Black Lives in July 2020.
Police said the 40-year-old male suspect was armed with a rifle, pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and bullet proof vest when he fatally shot four men on the street and then chased and killed a fifth man inside a home.
A 2-year-old boy was shot four times in the legs, while a 13-year-old boy also suffered to gunshot wounds to his legs, according to cops.
The gunman had fired at police as they chased him for several blocks before he eventually surrendered in an alley, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
Carriker also described himself as a computer engineer, and showed an interest in guns, posting pictures and memes of people with firearms.
One image featured a person holding a pistol with the caption: “Wherefore art thou opposition so I may slide upon thine block and runneth down on thee.”
Another one of his posts showed footage of several kids firing off rounds from a rifle.
In May 2020 Carriker also posted a video to his Facebook of a burning Philadelphia police car which had been daubed with grafitti including “ACAB” — an acronym for “all coppers are b—–ds” — and captioned it: “I was there; where were you? #we matter.” However, It is unclear if he had filmed the video himself.
The shooter, who was taken into custody without incident, didn’t have any connection to the victims prior to the shooting, Outlaw added.
Carriker’s old roommate, Tina Rosette, 49, told the Inquirer she was shocked to learn of his involvement in the shooting.
”I didn’t even know he had a gun,” she said.
Rosette described Carriker as “really smart, intelligent, creative” and someone who loved computers, but said he had “an aggressive approach to some things in life.”
She recalled him teaching young people how to fight “purportedly” in self-defense — but he failed to give them directions on when to stop.
Rosette’s daughter, Cianni Rosette, 24, who also lived with the alleged shooter, said Carriker had flashed a handgun several times.
”He was trying to get me comfortable around guns and stuff like that,” she said.
The mother and daughter said they lived with Carriker in 2021 but moved out about a year ago.
The elder Rosette said she believed he’d been in a “dark place” of late but she didn’t know why.
Carriker had been arrested in 2003 and charged with possession of a weapon without a license, carrying a firearm in public and drug possession, according to Philadelphia court records.
He eventually pleaded guilty to having a firearm without a license and the other charges were dropped. He was placed on three years probation and made to pay over $1,000 in costs.
Carriker had at one point appeared to start his own company LDS Frameworks, writing software and developing computer games but it had been inactive since 2019.
At the scene of Monday night’s shooting, officers said they found dozens of shell casings strewn across eight blocks.
