Action News helps police nab carjacking suspects in the Olney section of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Action News team became part of the story on Wednesday afternoon while covering a pair of carjackings.

The first carjacking happened in the Olney section of Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.

Then, shortly after noon, police received a report of a carjacking in the Abington Shopping Center.

A female victim told police she parked her vehicle in the lot and was walking toward a business when she was grabbed from behind by two males.

The suspects grabbed her bag from her shoulder, took the keys out, then stole her vehicle. The female victim was not hurt.

Abington officers pursued the stolen vehicle back into the Olney section of Philadelphia, where the suspects crashed in the 5200 block of Bingham Street.

The pair then fled on foot.

Officers fanned out to search for the men along the Tacony Creek Trail. While the search was underway, police say the suspects tried to carjack a third vehicle on Tabor Ave.

Action News talked to that driver's mother, who saw the whole thing.

"I ran in the back door and called police, and said 'I think who you're looking for is in my yard and they just ran into the woods,'" said Carrie Malaczewski.

An Action News crew was there as investigators searched for the suspects.

As it turns out, the Action News team eventually spotted the pair hiding in some bushes near a road and pointed them out to police.

Chopper 6 was overhead as the suspects were taken into custody.

"They said they were hanging out in the woods," said Lt. Steve Fink of the Abington Police Department. "In a briar patch, with no shirts on, so judge for yourself."

The two suspects were identified by the carjacking victims as the suspect.

The suspects, an 18-year-old man and a 14-year-old juvenile, were transported to the Abington Township Police Department where they will be charged with robbery of a motor vehicle and related charges.

(Editor's note: Police initially said the second carjacking happened at the Willow Grove Park Mall, but in an update late Wednesday they said it actually happened at the Abington Shopping Center. The video above has been edited to reflect this change.)