Dispatch Error Delayed Police Response For Philly Shooting Victim: PPD

PHILADELPHIA — A police dispatch error sent officers to the wrong block of a Philadelphia street after a man was shot and killed earlier this month, and officials have connected this killing to accused mass shooter Kimbrady Carriker.

Joseph Wamah Jr., 31, was killed around 44 hours before the mass shooting in Kingsessing on the the evening of July 3.

Officials believe Carriker shot and killed Wamah around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 2 within the 1600 block of South 56th Street, before he carried out the mass shooting at the corner of 56th and Chester streets the next evening. Related article —1st Victim In Philly Mass Shooting Was Killed Day Before

New evidence shows a neighbor called 911 at 2 a.m. that day, according to news partner CBS Philadelphia. However, as the 911 call was entered as 1600 North 56th Street (almost three miles away), police were unable to identify any reports of gunshots in the area.

Police officials detailed the mistake in a Monday news conference, saying there was a 911 dispatch error that lead officers to the wrong address. In 911 audio, the caller seems to say "North 56th Street."

"I think in the conversation, they never used north or south, and an error was made," Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said. "Someone placed it in the wrong location without reviewing."

PPD officials said there is an active investigation into what went wrong and why officers weren't dispatched to the correct shooting scene. Officers spoke to the witness who called 911 during the investigation, and tracked down the call.

Police linked Carriker to the shooting using ballistic evidence and video footage, as well as the 911 call. Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said it isn't possible to know if police would have caught him earlier, and prevented the mass shooting, had they been sent to the correct address.

Carriker is also accused of shooting and killing Lashyd Merritt, 20; Dymir Stanton, 29; Ralph Moralis, 59; Daujan Brown, 15, and Joseph Wamah Jr., 31, all of Philadelphia, at about 8:30 p.m. July 3. Related article — Accused Mass Shooter Left Will, Became Agitated Before Shooting: DA

"While it may have given us an investigative lead, the likelihood of cutting that off what happened later on, we just don't know," Outlaw said.

Relatives did not find Wamah's body until four hours after the mass shooting (48 hours after he was killed).

"Forensic medical examination corroborates that Mr. Wamah was killed long before the other victims were harmed ... Additional evidence supports the conclusion that Kimbrady Carriker murdered Wamah on July 2nd and that Carriker also murdered and wounded multiple other victims on July 3rd," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said.