A gunman shot a Chinese food deliveryman, who managed to drive away before succumbing to his injuries while he was behind the wheel in Philadelphia late Thursday night.
Rendon Zheng, of N 10th Street, was working for New China Chinese restaurant, when he made a delivery to the 500 block of Hill Creek Park Drive around 10:30 p.m. when an assailant fired at least 12 shots, hitting the 49-year-old Zheng in the left shoulder, police said.
The victim tried to speed away, crossing Adams Avenue, near Bingham Street, but ended up crashing through a fence at the top of an embankment, authorities said.
When medics arrived at the crash scene, they found the driver unconscious in his car and rushed him to Albert Einstein Medical Center where he died minutes later.
"Right now we're not sure if the victim was robbed. Were not even sure if the victim had exited his vehicle when he was shot," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Investigators said they recovered 12 shell casings from the shooting scene and they interviewed staff at the Chinese restaurant, which is located at 5815 Rising Sun Ave. Other deliverymen in the area said Zheng often helped his wife in the kitchen at New China.
Investigators worked to determine whether this was a random crime or if the deadly shooting was a planned ambush.
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Anyone with information is urged to contact Philadelphia Police.
