Police ID man killed in late-night carjacking in Northern Liberties
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A group of men are wanted after a carjacking in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties Thursday night ended with a 60-year-old man being killed. Investigators believe the man was waiting for his wife when he was suddenly attacked.
Just before 10 p.m., police and medics responded to reports of a robbery at the intersection of 3rd and Cambridge Streets. When they arrived on the scene, police found 60-year-old Peter Soong Chun Chan lying on the ground suffering from an injury to the head.
Police rushed Chan to Jefferson University Hospital for treatment, where he later died.
A witness told police Chan was sitting in a parked black 2023 Toyota Highlander when the attackers wearing face masks pulled up on motorcycles.
"One of them pulled the 60-year-old driver from the driver's seat and there was some sort of struggle and altercation and that's when the 60-year-old who was pulled out of the vehicle ended up laying on the highway," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
We spoke with a restaurant owner who is calling for more police presence in the area.
Near to where the incident happened, Boricua Restaurant co-owner Hector Serrano checked his surveillance cameras to see if they captured anything but only a few emergency vehicles could be seen.
"We did see when the fire department and ambulance came out for this unfortunate incident," Serrano said.
No weapons were recovered. It's a tragedy that's surprising to many in Northern Liberties.
"It's pretty surprising," Collin Mailman said. "It's pretty upsetting to be honest because this area is a really rapidly changing area."
"Well, 100% I'm surprised," Serrano said. "We've been here four years and this, I consider this a family-oriented neighborhood."
Investigators recovered the unoccupied vehicle in the 3100 block of South Atlanta Road in Camden, New Jersey.
Serrano says he hopes this doesn't become more common within the neighborhood but for now, he and his staff will be more cautious.
"We have to be careful of leaving the restaurant and just to make sure that we're looking at our surroundings when we're going in and out of our cars because you never know," Serrano said.
According to Philadelphia Police, there have been 525 carjackings including attempts this year. Last year, the city saw a record of more than 1,300 for all of 2022.
Camden County Police are holding the vehicle to search for evidence of the crime. Police have no leads on the attackers at this time.
Both Philadelphia and Camden police are working together on the investigation.
