A group of men and women jumped out of a minivan and brutally beat a man using weapons like a hammer, Mace and a piece of wood at a North Philadelphia gas station earlier this week. The entire attack was caught on surveillance video and police are searching for those responsible.
The 51-year-old man was standing outside the convenience store at the Sunoco gas station at 5338 N. 5th Street in the Olney section of the city just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday when he was attacked, police said.
Surveillance video shows a gray Honda Odyssey minivan pull into the gas station and after the doors fling open and six people rush to attack the man. Punches and hits to the head with a hammer and other tools sends the man, who was dressed in a gray hoodie, to the concrete.
Once on the ground, several of the attackers stomp on his head, kick him in the face and continue using the tools to wail on him. The assault lasts for some 30 seconds while other patrons watch nearby.
Immediately following the beating, one of the women involved grabs a young boy from the minivan and pulls him over to look down on the injured man, surveillance video shows. She, and the others, then get back into the vehicle and drive off.
The victim was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center in critical condition with severe head injuries. He remains hospitalized, police said.
Following the beating, officers at the hospital recognized the minivan and found two women inside — 24-year-old Shareena Joachim and 34-year-old Aleathea Gillard. Both were arrested and charged with Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possessing Instruments of Crime and related offenses, police said. Attorney information was not immediately available for the women.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Detectives are still searching for the other people involved in the attack. Anyone with information is asked to call the police tipline at 215.686.TIPS.
