Eight people died in shootings that occurred in the states of Texas and Pennsylvania, just hours before the US celebrates Independence Day, a day that statistically tends to be one of the most violent of the year.

The Philadelphia Police Department in Pennsylvania reported that a man was arrested on Monday night after indiscriminately shooting at several people in the Kingsessing neighborhood in the southwest of the city.

Five people died in this incident, and two others, two minors aged 2 and 13, were injured. The man was wearing a bulletproof vest and had multiple magazines, an AR-15 assault rifle, and a pistol.

In another violent incident in the city of Fort Worth, Texas, at least three people died, and eight were injured (including a minor) in a shooting that took place in a parking lot, according to the city's Police Department.

No arrests have been made at the moment, and the motive for the shootings is unknown. The incident occurred on the day when the Como neighborhood was celebrating its local festivities, and there was a large crowd gathered in the parking lot.

According to Gun Violence Archive, there have been 345 mass shootings so far in 2023.