A pizza deliveryman fought back against a pair of would-be carjackers in the parking lot of a Chestnut Hill neighborhood apartment complex overnight, shooting one of them, Philadelphia police said.
The incident took place just off Stenton Avenue just a minute before midnight, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said early Wednesday.
Two masked men with guns approached the 21-year-old deliveryman as he was dropping off food, Small said.
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"He was being carjacked and robbed," Small said.
"One of them forced the 21-year-old deliveryman into the back seat and one of the perpetrators got into the backseat with him," Small said. "The other perpetrator got into the front seat. And they started asking him for money."
The robbers then wanted to know where the man worked and if he had any apps on his phone that he could use to get money to them, Small said.
The deliveryman was able to get out of the vehicle and confront one of the robbers, firing two shots, Small said. The would-be robber was struck once in the backside.
Police found one of the would-be robbers about 300 feet away and got him to the hospital where he was in stable condition while in surgery, police said. The man was being held as a prisoner and charges were expected.
The other guy ran off across Stenton Avenue into neighboring Springfield Township, Small said.
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It appeared that there was possibly a shootout as police found evidence that the bleeding would-be robber had evidence on him that he had fired at least one shot, Small said.
Police spent the early morning hours searching the apartment complex grounds for a gun that was possibly tossed away, investigators said.
Police said the deliveryman was on the phone with his brother -- who also works at the pizza shop -- who heard the whole thing and rushed to the scene to help with brother.
The deliveryman had a license to carry a weapon, investigators said.
Small said that shootings are "unusual" in the neighborhood.
Police continued to investigate the shooting and would-be robbery into the early morning hours of Wednesday.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
