Man, 60, beaten to death during carjacking in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A man died after a physical altercation took place during a carjacking in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood on Thursday night.

Philadelphia police say they were able to track the victim's stolen car to Camden, New Jersey, by using the Toyota mobile app, but they are still searching for suspects.

Police said they responded to several 911 calls just before 10 p.m. at the intersection of 3rd and Cambridge streets.

Witnesses were rendering aid to the 60-year-old victim, identified by police as Peter Chan from Chinatown.

Investigators said his head was bleeding a little, he was semi-conscious but unable to get up off the ground.

Medics rushed him to the hospital, where Chan died less than an hour later.

Police said a witness told them Chan was sitting in a parked 2023 Toyota Highlander SUV when a group of males pulled up on motorcycles with their faces covered.

One of the suspects pulled the victim out of the vehicle, and that's when police said there was a physical altercation.

One of the suspects drove away in the SUV, the others took off on the bikes.

Chinatown community leaders told Action News Chan was waiting for his wife when he was attacked.

Police said a family member arrived right after Chan was rushed to the hospital. They did not say whether it was his wife.

Investigators said they were able to use the Toyota mobile app to track the victim's brand-new vehicle and found it abandoned in the back of a property in Camden.

"Camden police are going to hold that vehicle and guard that for prints and DNA, so hopefully, we can get some fingerprints or DNA to help us identify the perpetrator," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Jamal Johnson lives in the area and says he was carjacked in the same spot four years ago.

"When it happened to me, it was a gun. I'm like, 'Hey, you have a gun.' That's extremely brutal. I can't imagine someone beating someone to that point. And then being like, 'Okay, he's knocked out, let's go,'" said Johnson.

The Action News data journalism team found, so far this year, there have been 31 carjackings in the 26th district, where Thursday's incident occurred. They also found there has been a massive increase in the number of carjackings in the last four years.

In 2019, there were 225 carjackings, in 2020, there were 410, in 2021, the number of carjackings more than doubled, with 866 by year's end. And last year, there were 1,346 carjackings.

In the past 12 months, there have been 1,027 citywide.

"It doesn't matter where in the city you live, unfortunate situations like this happen to people," commented Hector Serrano, the owner of Boricua, a local restaurant.

"When we go in and out of the car, we have to be more careful. And even if a customer leaves, we want to make sure we walk out with them when it's late at night," he added.

The continuous crime is putting many residents in the city on high alert.

"Living in Philly, you always have to keep an eye over your shoulder a bit and be aware of your surroundings," said Jeff Kratohwill from Northern Liberties.

Meanwhile, the Chinatown community is mourning this most recent loss.

Community leaders told Action News that Chan came to the U.S. roughly 30 years ago.

They said he was a hardworking and honest man who was loved by family and friends.

Police have not released any descriptions of the suspects yet.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Philadelphia police.

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