A teen boy accused of shooting and killing a Philadelphia father who was trying to protect his 2-year-old daughter during a carjacking in Spring Garden, has been arrested and charged as an adult. Philadelphia Police officials revealed new details about the teen suspect, identified as 16-year-old Marvin Roberts.
UPDATE: Gerard Grandzol will be laid to rest after a funeral Mass Wednesday.
Surveillance footage led Philadelphia police to the suspects accused of killing 38-year-old Gerard Grandzol, a father of two who was shot in the face last week while shielding his daughter from a carjacking, police said Monday.
"It's one the most horrific things I've seen," Capt. John Ryan, commanding officer of Philadelphia police homicide unit, said. "It's hard to watch."
Marvin Roberts, 16, allegedly opened fire on Grandzol after he and his older brother, 21-year-old Maurice Roberts, confronted Grandzol on the 1500 block of Melon Street Thursday evening in an attempted carjacking, police said.
Grandzol handed the two brothers his wallet but refused to turn over his car keys because his 2-year-old daughter was still inside, police said.
That's when he was shot twice in the face, police said. Investigators have not recovered the 9 mm semiautomic gun used to kill Grandzol. They suspect Roberts acquired the weapon by either stealing it or buying it illegally. Sources told NBC10 the two brothers could be heard laughing as they fled the scene.
When first responders arrived, they found Grandzol's daughter crying in the back seat, sources said.
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"It's a touch of evil. There's no way to explain [the shooting]," Ryan said.
On Saturday, Marvin Roberts was charged with murder, robbery, carjacking, criminal conspiracy, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment and several other violations, police said.
Police released his mugshot Monday afternoon.
His older brother fled Philadelphia following the shooting but U.S. Marshalls arrested him in New Jersey Saturday evening, police said. The 21-year-old is currently in police custody and will be sent back to Philadelphia after a formal hearing.
Brendan Fernald, Grandzol's friend and neighbor, rushed over to help and try to keep him alive.
"[I] jumped down and started putting pressure on his wounds. Then, scooping the blood out of his mouth so he could breathe," Fernald said.
A vigil for Grandzol will be held Monday at 6:15 p.m. at the corner of 15th and Melon streets.
Roberts' older brother was also arrested in connection to the carjacking and shooting. Both brothers have prior arrests, investigators told NBC10.
