Legally Armed Lyft Driver Shoots 2 Men During Carjacking In West Philadelphia, Police Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 38-year-old Lyft driver shot two men during a carjacking in West Philadelphia, police say. The Lyft driver was reportedly on the 1100 block of North 40th Street just after 2:30 p.m. Monday when he was rear-ended by a vehicle twice.
When the driver exited his vehicle, he was approached by a man who exited the striking vehicle with a shotgun and took the Lyft driver's vehicle.
The Lyft driver has a valid permit to carry and shot the man with his personal weapon.
The driver of the striking vehicle then attempted to hit the victim when he fired his weapon at the second defendant. Both men fled the scene, one in the Lyft driver's vehicle and the other in the striking vehicle.
Police located one of the men inside a 2011 Infiniti on the 4200 block of Parkside Avenue. He was suffering a gunshot wound to the chest & transported to an area hospital where he was placed in critical condition.
The driver of the striking vehicle was located on the 4300 block of Lancaster Avenue in a Honda Accord. He was suffering from a gunshot wound to the right side of the rib cage area and was transported to a local hospital.
He is also in critical condition.
Both of the defendants were arrested and weapons were recovered along with the vehicles.
The Lyft driver did not sustain any injuries during this incident.
Lyft released a statement regarding the incident Tuesday night: "Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the incident described is deeply troubling. We have been in touch with both the rider and driver to offer our support and have reached out to law enforcement to offer our assistance."
No further information is available at this time.