Philadelphia comedian held at gunpoint, carjacked following show on Christmas Eve

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Na'Tosha Wyles, known by her stage name TaTa Sherise, was held at gunpoint and carjacked at 51st and Locust streets on the way home from a show on Christmas Eve.

"I made it close to my neighborhood. I was about to go home, got gas. I parked the car. I guess I sat in there 60 seconds too long," said Sherise. "I saw two guys walking up. They pointed the guns like 'Yeah, you know what time it is."

Her 2017 Blue Hyundai Elantra was stolen along with all of her performance and show merchandise, including T-shirts with her name and stand-up slogan.

Sherice says these sales are a big part of her income.

"It's probably like $1,500 worth of merchandise in the car. They all say my name. If you see a bunch of shirts with TaTa Sherise, you know they didn't really get them from where they were supposed to get them from," said Sherise.

According to the 6abc Data Journalism Team, there have been 21 carjackings and attempts this year in Philadelphia.

Carjackings happened more than a thousand times in 2022 in Philadelphia, up 55% from 2021. It is a new record for the city.

District Attorney Larry Krasner announced a new carjacking enforcement unit in order to deal with the increasing crime.

The unit is focused on the prosecution of people accused of violent carjackings and will be funded by the city for the next six months.

"I'm upset about what's going on in the city right now. Because a lot of people need these vehicles for their kids, to get to work, to get to school. It's really sad," said Sherise.

On Friday, the stand-up comedian is doing what she does best: comedy. She's currently working on a new skit about her experience.

"I finally cried about it like last week. I like to laugh at my pain like Kevin Hart says. That's what a lot of us comedians do," said Sherise. "I'm just happy to be here. I'm happy to be alive. A lot of people's stories don't end that way at all. Sometimes people kill you, and take your stuff."

According to Philadelphia police, her vehicle was found abandoned on Woodstock Street.

Authorities are still searching for the suspects.