A baby was found safe after an armed carjacker attacked a father, stole his SUV, drove off and fired a shot while the child was still inside the vehicle, police said.
Now officials are asking the suspects involved in this incident to turn themselves in.
The suspects wanted have been identified as 23-year-old Phillis Fugah, of Upper Darby, and 21-year-old Ian Dean, of Southwest Philadelphia, officials announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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The ordeal began Thursday around 3:15 p.m. at New Street and Merion Avenue near the 7200 block of West Chester Pike in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. A man was inside his SUV with his two children, a 5-year-old and a 2-month-old, while the mother of the children was inside a nearby store, police said.
Fugah and Dean then approached the vehicle and attempted to steal it, according to investigators. A struggle then ensued between the father and one of the suspects who overpowered the man and got inside his vehicle, police said.
The father's 5-year-old child managed to get out of the vehicle as the suspect drove off with the 2-month-old baby still inside, according to investigators. The second suspect fled on foot along Merion Avenue towards the 69th Street SEPTA Station, police said.
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As the first suspect continued driving west on West Chester Pike, he took out a gun and fired one shot that struck a packed SEPTA bus that was traveling eastbound on West Chester Pike, police said. No one on the bus was hurt.
The suspect then stopped on North State Road and West Chester Pike and fled on foot with the 2-month-old baby still inside the vehicle, according to investigators. NBC10 obtained surveillance video showing the suspect abandoning the white SUV and running down a sidewalk.
Responding police officers found the baby safe inside the vehicle. The 5-year-old child was also uninjured while their father suffered a cut on his eye.
"Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. The mother wasn’t hurt. The father and the two children and everyone that was on that SEPTA bus," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said. "It’s a brazen act. Look, we’re in front of police headquarters. We’re a block and a half from police headquarters and fire headquarters. The brazenness of these two to do that in broad daylight, again it speaks to the volume of crime that we’re seeing across the country.”
Investigators said the first suspect was wearing a black hoodie with a "Monster" logo on the back and black jeans. Police are currently searching for him at the Cobbs Creek Golf Club at 7400 Lansdowne Avenue in Philadelphia, according to Bernhardt.
The second suspect who fled towards 69th Street Station was wearing a grey shirt and a pink cast on his left hand, Bernhardt said.
Officials are asking the suspects to turn themselves into authorities, officials said.
Police explained that at least one of the suspects lives in a home near where the carjacking took place and officials conducted a search warrant there on the unit block of New Street.
Police closed westbound lanes on West Chester Pike between Keystone Avenue and State Road during the investigation. Footage from SkyForce10 showed police surrounding a white Honda Pilot. Lanes were later reopened.
If you have any information on the suspects' whereabouts or the incident, please call Upper Darby Police.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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