We have previously reported on the mass shooting in the Gray’s Ferry section of the City of Brotherly Love, and now The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported an arrest in the case.

One man has been arrested for his role in Grays Ferry mass shooting that left 12 shot

Terrell Frazier is among multiple gunmen who shot 12 people on the 1500 bock of South Etting Street, police said.

by Ellie Rushing | Thursday, August 7, 2025 | 10:10 AM EDT

Philadelphia police on Thursday said they have arrested one of the gunmen involved in a mass shooting in Grays Ferry that left three young men dead and nine others wounded.

Terrell Frazier, 22, was taken into custody Wednesday night at his West Philadelphia home to face charges including three counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and risking catastrophe, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

Vanore said Frazier was one of multiple people who indiscriminately fired more than 120 bullets down the 1500 block of South Etting Street on July 7, striking 12 people. Additional gunmen were expected to be identified and taken into custody in the coming days, he said.

Preliminary ballistics evidence suggests at least 13 guns were fired on the block that night, he said — likely all by partygoers spooked by what they thought was the sound of gunfire.

I illustrated this article with a screen capture of a tweet from Steve Keeley of Fox 29 News for a couple of reasons. First, Mr Keeley posted the mugshot of the suspect, something the newspaper did not, and second, it avoids copyright issues, since the tweet does allow free retweets. However, all of a sudden the Inky is using photos of surveillance photos, that might not really identify the suspects in question, but which, hang on to your hats, folks, are explicit enough to indicate the race of the suspects. As we noted on Wednesday, the newspaper surprised me by updating a previous story to included photos from surveillance footage, something not done in the original.

I have to ask: has the Inquirer changed its editorial policies on this?

While it was initially thought that the shootings were the result of some gang beef, the police now believe that a sound similar to a gunshot rang out, the partygoers all assumed that it was such, and some of them pulled out their own weapons and started firing.

Think about that. The police found casings from 13 separate firearms, which tells you that somewhere around a dozen partygoers were packing heat and expecting trouble.^[1]“(S)omewhere around a dozen” reflects the possibility that one or more of the gunmen could have been carrying more than one weapon. Well, it was Gray’s Ferry, after all!

Frazier has been arrested multiple times in the last few years, court records show. In 2021, he was arrested and later pleaded guilty to theft and conspiracy charges, and was sentenced to four years probation. The following year, he was again arrested and later convicted of receiving stolen property and fleeing arrest, according to the records.

Most recently, in October, he pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession and was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in jail plus three more years of probation, the records show. He was released on parole this spring.

Pennsylvania Title 18 §6106(a)(1), the crime for which Mr Frazier was convicted, is a Third Degree Felony, which, under Title 18 §106(b)(4) carries a sentence of up to seven years in the state penitentiary. While the negotiated sentence was a measley 11½ to 23 months, the court record specified^[2]Court record provided by my good electronic friend ‘Stinky Feat’ that he be paroled after completing the minimum, with credit for time already served. Had this previously convicted criminal at least been required to do the full 23 months, he would have been behind bars at the time of that July street party.

Still, a few months later, and while still under court supervision, police said he again came to possess a gun — and this time, they said, he used it.

I will admit to some surprise that reporter Ellie Rushing pointed out that the alleged shooter had a firearm, the possession of which, as a previously convicted felon, he was legally prohibited. Why, it’s almost as though the newspaper has admitted that gun control laws don’t really work to keep firearms out of the hands of the bad guys.

Mr Keeley reported that Mr Frazier has been charged with murder, attempted murder, Violations of the Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA), and multiple other crimes. The murder charge carries with it the potential for decades in prison, possibly even life, so I have to ask: did the previous lenient treatment of Mr Frazier actually do him any favors? Had he been behind bars when the South Etting Street shootings occurred, he’d be looking at getting out of jail in 2026, at the latest. Now he’s looking a possible life sentence dead in the eye.