PHILADELPHIA — When Gregory Jackson arrived on South Street on Saturday, he brought a handgun he was licensed to carry. And he fired that gun, prosecutors said, to settle a dispute with another man, sparking a deadly mass shooting that tore through one of Philadelphia’s most popular nightlife hubs.
But court documents reveal Jackson obtained the permit despite being arrested for carrying an illegal gun in 2020. A clerical error at a district court in Delaware County delayed that case against Jackson for months, court officials said. That mistake was only noticed last month, when the charges were finally filed, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for later this summer.
During the intervening 17 months, Jackson successfully applied for a concealed-carry permit in Delaware County. Had Jackson been convicted in that earlier case, he would have been barred from getting that permit under Pennsylvania law.
