2024 East Lansdowne shooting

On the afternoon of February 7, 2024, police in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, responded to a call reporting that an 11-year-old girl had been shot inside a home on Lewis Avenue. Investigators said the grandfather of the family was believed to have made the 9-1-1 call, though this detail was never officially confirmed. As officers from East Lansdowne and Lansdowne arrived at 3:47 p.m., they were fired upon by a gunman inside the house and both were struck, one in the arm and one in the leg. Officers from Upper Darby used ballistic shields to pull the wounded officers to safety amid continued gunfire; one was placed in a patrol car and the other in an ambulance. Both were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia and were later reported in stable condition. Officials estimated that 40 to 50 rounds were fired during the incident.

According to investigators, the shooting began after the gunman argued with his niece, then retrieved a Diamondback DB-15 semiautomatic pistol from an upstairs bedroom. He fatally shot his brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces before shooting himself. About fifteen minutes after police arrived, a fire broke out inside the house and eventually consumed the structure entirely, causing it to collapse. Fire crews' response was delayed because of the ongoing gunfire, and investigators later concluded the gunman had deliberately started the fire when he took his own life.

All six people killed were members of the Le family, who had come to the United States from South Vietnam in 1981 following the fall of its government. Three adults and three children died in the attack; the children attended schools in the William Penn School District, including a fourth-grader, a middle-schooler, and a high school senior. Investigators initially found three bodies, including one believed to be the shooter's, when they searched the home; the remaining three bodies were located during a follow-up search the next day. Due to the severity of the fire damage, officials said dental records would likely be needed to identify some remains. Delaware County investigators later determined that five of the six victims died from gunshot wounds, while the youngest victim died from smoke inhalation.

A woman identifying herself as Chin Le, the mother of the alleged shooter, said her son, Canh, was the perpetrator. She said he had argued with his 10-year-old nephew before the shooting, that she did not know why he had a firearm, and that he had no known history of mental illness. Reporting citing The Inquirer said the shooter's father, Huong Le, made the emergency call before he and his wife fled the house as police arrived.

In the aftermath, community members gathered at Yeadon Community Park for a balloon release honoring the victims, and candles were later lit outside the family's home on Lewis Avenue.