A legal gun owner shot a suspected carjacker who police say tried to steal his car and a SEPTA truck, according to investigators. Police say the armed man struggled with the thief before opening fire. NBC10’s Rosemary Connors spoke to a teenager who says he and his brother helped stop the thief.
A carjacker is in the hospital after he was shot in the leg by his intended victim and held down by two teen brothers in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, according to police.
Police say the 32-year-old suspect crashed into a silver sedan at 6300 Woodbine Avenue shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday. The crash set off a chain reaction accident that involved several other cars.
The suspect then got out and tried to steal a van near an Italian restaurant but was chased away by workers at the business, according to officials. He then tried to carjack a white sedan that was nearby, police said. The owner of the car fought him off however and locked the doors. Part of the incident was captured on surveillance video.
Police say the suspect then tried to steal a nearby SEPTA service truck.
"The offender then opens the door of that SEPTA vehicle, pulls the driver out onto the street and starts punching him," said Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Walker.
The suspect got in the truck but wasn't able to drive it, police said. As he tried to walk away, the owner of the white sedan, who police say has a permit to carry a gun, chased after him. Joe Kelly, a freshman at St. Joe's Prep who was heading home with his older brother, a senior at the school, witnessed the chase.
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"Two men turned the corner, one with a gun," Kelly said. "The other one in front of him was just running from him. We didn't know what was happening at the time."
Kelly said the armed man then called out to him and his brother and asked them to help him take down the suspect.
"The man with the gun was yelling to stop him, tackle him, since I think he tried to break into his car," Kelly said. "So I ended up just tackling him and bringing him to the ground."
Kelly told NBC10 he and his brother struggled to hold the suspect down as he tried to break free.
"The man with the gun came over and tried to keep him on the ground but he wanted to get up," Kelly said.
Police say the suspect started to struggle with the armed man who opened fire. The suspect was shot in the right leg. He was taken to Lankenau Hospital where he is currently in stable condition. Charges against him are pending.
Police told NBC10 they don't expect the man who shot the suspect to face any charges.
