It’s common knowledge that Philadelphia goes a little crazy in the summertime. Something about the heat, no doubt. But rarely does the shell count get so high in such a short period of time.

Between Saturday and Monday, there have been at least 24 reported gunshot victims, five of which are now dead.

It started on Saturday evening. Two people still remain in the hospital after two gunmen opened fire on a outdoor barbecue in Mantua, leaving ten bullet-wounded victims, among them a baby and two children.

Then there were two separate incidents in two separate bars in two separate neighborhoods. A drunken argument in Olney ended with a bouncer fatally shooting an aggressive patron. And then in North Philadelphia, police say a man was shot and killed after an altercation with a bar owner.

Two mysteries. A man bled out in the streets of West Philly when police found him Sunday. Another near Cheltenham Avenue eventually lost his life after taking a bullet to hip in his building's second-floor hallway. No suspects.

Two other gunmen — variously described as “boys” and “men” — fired guns openly around the area of 11th and Girard Street, leaving two injured. One man was shot four times in the buttocks; the other was a passing driver who was grazed by one of four bullets that entered his car.

Then on Monday morning, a bullet-riddled body was found between two cars in the Frankford section of the city. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

And in the 90-degree, cloudless afternoon, a block erupted in Kensington near Allegheny Avenue. At least 7 people were shot and hospitalized, including an 11-year-old girl.

Police are still investigating all of the cases. No arrests have been made yet, although police have issued suspects. 

According to the PPD’s website, the overall homicide rate remains down compared to previous years.