Philadelphia authorities are investigating a mass shooting that left five people dead and two others injured on Monday night. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Maurice Louis, allegedly opened fire on his family members and neighbors in a residential area of West Philadelphia. He was later arrested and charged with five counts of murder and other offenses.
According to District Attorney Larry Krasner, the shooting was “obviously planned” and involved a semi-automatic rifle, a handgun, body armor and a police scanner. He said the motive was still unclear and the investigation could take months to complete. The victims included Louis’ mother, stepfather, brother, sister-in-law and a neighbor. The two injured people were taken to a hospital in stable condition.
In another news, Earth’s average temperature remained at a record high Wednesday, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records. It’s the latest marker in a series of climate-change-driven extremes that have been affecting different regions of the world.
The global average temperature for July 5 was 16.83 degrees Celsius (62.29 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. That’s 0.21 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record for the same day, set in 2019. The data also showed that June 2023 was the warmest June on record globally, with an average temperature of 16.4 degrees Celsius.
Scientists have warned that rising temperatures are linked to more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods and storms. They have also urged governments to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as agreed in the 2015 Paris climate accord.
