Police investigating 2 South Philadelphia carjackings minutes apart on same street

Tuesday, October 31, 2023
2 carjackings minutes apart on same street in South Philly: police
Police investigating 2 South Philadelphia carjackings minutes apart on same street

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are investigating two carjackings that happened just minutes apart on the same street early Tuesday morning.



Police responded to South Philadelphia after receiving a report of a carjacking that occurred around 1:30 a.m. in the 300 block of Reed Street. A 28-year-old woman said she injured her lip when she was forced out of her vehicle and pushed to the ground at gunpoint, according to police.



The carjackers, described as three males wearing all black clothing and masks, then took off in the victim's 2019 Nissan Sentra westbound on Reed Street.



"It's scary," said South Philly resident Caitlyn Whalin. "I live down the street. I've lived here all my life. It don't feel good knowing that information- especially under the bridge."



Then a few minutes later, police responded to another carjacking on Reed Street. The victim in the second incident said he was exiting his 2008 Lincoln Navigator when three people -- two with guns -- approached him. The thieves then took off with the victim's vehicle and keys, also heading westbound on Reed Street. The 47-year-old man, who was not injured, also said the offenders were wearing all black clothing and masks.



Some residents said they are overwhelmed by the number of carjackings in the city.



"My mom lives right down the street and she won't even park her car there anymore because I feel like it's every night there's tires getting taken out or something," Whalin said.



"I had to delete the Citizen App from my phone because there would be so many notifications of this crime and I just didn't want to know about it," added Lily Grace, of West Philadelphia.



"It's every day at this point- any time of the day," said Paris Beal, of South Philly.



No one is in custody as authorities check surveillance cameras in the area.



There have been dozens of carjackings in the city this year near the Delaware River. Many cases involve people stealing cars in the city and then driving them over into Camden.



At this point though, it's unclear if these cases fall into the category.



Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.

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