Police are frantically searching for the men they say shot and killed a mother, father and aunt in a West Philadelphia grocery store on Tuesday night.
The shooting happened at Lorena’s Grocery Store on 50th and Parrish Streets around 8.
The store's owner Porfirio Nunez, 49, was closing the store when he, his wife Carmen and sister Lina Sanchez were shot to death, according to neighbors.
Also in the store, huddled on the ground, was the Nunez’s 17-year-old daughter and watching in horror, the only eye witness to the murders, their 19-year-old daughter.
The eldest daughter tells NBC Philadelphia that just before the gunmen entered the store, she answered a phone call asking if they had or needed surveillance cameras. She handed the phone to her father who told the caller that he wasn’t interested.
Moments later, two men dressed in black, walked in the store, and demanded money from the teens.
The girls' father approached from the back of the store to see what was going on and that's when the alleged robbers started shooting, said the teen witness.
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“The guys shot my dad -- the one right next to me -- and then the other one killed my auntie and my mom and then he killed my dad and that’s it,” the teen tells NBC Philadelphia.
She says she gave one of the men money while begging for her life.
The men then fled the corner store, a moment police believe was caught on surveillance video.
Police are currently searching for the two suspects. Police say one man, in his 20s, stands at 5-foot-4. He was last seen wearing a black shirt and a black baseball cap. The second man, in his 30s, was last seen wearing a black shirt and black baseball cap.
Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous.
Neighbors say the family had been at the store for nearly a decade. They were loved by the community and often helped people out who were short on money.
“It’s just sad,” says one neighbor.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Philadelphia Police.
