(NEW YORK) — A 64-year-old food deliveryman was fighting for his life Monday after being shot multiple times by an assailant who ambushed him outside a Philadelphia home and stole his vehicle, according to police.
The gunman in Sunday evening’s shooting in a north Philadelphia neighborhood remained unidentified and on the run Monday, police said.
The shooting unfolded around 6 p.m. when the deliveryman, whose name was not released, dropped off a takeout order at a home in the city’s Port Richmond section, police said.
The victim was walking back to his Jeep when he was approached from behind and shot five or six times, according to police and neighbors. The assailant fled in the victim’s car.
Port Richmond resident Phillis Kelly told ABC station WPVI in Philadelphia that the deliveryman was shot after bringing food to her home from a local restaurant.
“It happened so quick. It’s like, why did this happen?” Kelly said.
Kelly said the shooting erupted shortly after she went back into her home.
“[I’m] in shock and anger. Maybe if I would have stayed there another minute, maybe they would have went away. Maybe the driver would have been OK,” Kelly said.
Neighbor James Thompson, who lives across the street from Kelly, said the deliveryman’s Jeep was parked next to his house and that he was startled by the gunshots that rang out.
“We heard five or six, what sounded to be gunshots,” Thompson told WPVI. “I came out to look and saw a guy lying on the pavement and I grabbed my phone and called 911.”
The victim was shot in the chest, back and torso, according to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, police said.
The shooting left Port Richmond residents like Thompson shocked and worried that the shooter is still on the loose.
“I have a concern in general but that’s the environment we live in right now,” Thompson said. “I have to figure out how to protect myself and my family as best as I can.”
Another Port Richmond resident, who would only give her name as Ana S., said it was heartbreaking that an “innocent life” was jeopardized for just trying to earn a living.
“It’s just sad. All the violence, all the guns. It’s just sad it’s going on,” she said.
The shooting came as Philadelphia is seeing significant drops in homicides and non-fatal shootings this year compared to 2022, when the city recorded 516 homicides. As of Sunday, Philadelphia police have investigated 360 homicides, a 20% decline from the same period last year, according to the police department’s crime statistics.
Non-fatal shootings in Philadelphia are down about 35% from this time last year, according to the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. As of Sunday, Philadelphia has seen 1,161 non-fatal shooting victims, including 22 in the first week of November, according to the center.
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