A 62-year-old man was punched, kicked, and carjacked by a group of “kids” — two of whom police said were armed — as the victim readied to head home from his Philadelphia workplace Tuesday afternoon.
The City of Brotherly Love has tallied over 700 carjackings so far this year — about two and a half times more than this time last year, WPVI-TV reported.
What are the details?
Just after 5 p.m. the victim departed his job at Polam Auto World Inc. in the 600 block of West Fisher Avenue in the city’s Olney section, WPVI noted.
“A group of kids were across the street,” a man named Jacob told KYW-TV, adding that the victim is one of his employees.
He told KYW it appeared the suspects were “hiding behind [two black] SUVs at first, waiting for traffic to clear, waiting for people to walk around so they don’t see what’s happening.”
Surveillance video shows a group surrounding the victim’s car. But when the victim doesn’t get out after one suspect opens the driver-side door, the suspects begin punching and kicking the man until he exits the vehicle.
Image source: WPVI-TV video screenshot
“Opened the door, told him to get out,” Jacob added to KYW. “At first he didn’t, so they start punching and kicking him.”
Jacob added to KYW that the culprits are “literally kids.”
“It looked like they didn’t even have licenses yet,” he added to the station, recounting their trouble operating the vehicle. “They had plenty of room to go forward. They started reversing the car. One kid jumped in while the car was still moving. Literally kids.”
Police told KYW that at least two of the attackers — believed to be between 15 to 17 years old — were armed.
He added to WPVI that the victim faced “an unfair fight,” and that the carjacking “happened in broad daylight. It could happen to anybody.”
The victim suffered injuries to his face, KYW reported.
In the following image, it appears the victim — yellow arrow pointing toward him — was able to walk away from the scene:
Image source: WPVI-TV video screenshot
“It is concerning. It’s not only in front of my business … it’s happening everywhere,” Jacob told KYW. “You know, things like that need to stop.”
He added to the station that the victim should have locked his doors once inside his vehicle: “They opened it right up and took advantage of it.”
The stolen car was recovered the following day and was damaged, WPVI said, adding that while no arrests have been made, authorities are hoping people recognize the culprits from the video.
Another carjacking
Police told WPVI in a separate story that a carjacking victim in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia shot at armed masked suspects as they drove away just after midnight Wednesday.
Police told the station the culprits approached two victims on Harbison Avenue and Comly Street and demanded their vehicle.
But as carjackers drove off in the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, WPVI said one of the victims opened fire five times at the crooks. Police don’t know if the carjackers were hit, the station added.
* Article from: The Blaze
