Recently released surveillance video shows the moments a thief pulled out a gun and shot a block captain who allegedly tried to stop him from stealing a catalytic converter in Northwest Philadelphia last week.
According to police, the ordeal happened just after 5 a.m., when officers responded to West Pomona Street at Germantown Avenue to find a man in his 50s shot in his chest.
Police said the man, who is the neighborhood's block captain, tried to stop four offenders who stole a catalytic converter from his parked van. However, as the offenders fled the area, one suspect brandished a semi-automatic gun equipped with a laser sight and shot him once in the chest.
Two of the offenders immediately fled in a silver sedan while the others fled on foot on the 6300 block of Germantown Avenue towards Washington Lane.
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The block captain was rushed to Einstein Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition.
Although feeling a bit weak, the captain was able to return home Wednesday to the neighborhood that is hailing him as a hero.
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"I praise him," Veonda Garnder, a neighbor and nearby business owner said. "He's really such a hero to us, but we are on pins and needles here."
Philadelphia Police Capt. John Walker said investigators need the public's help in identifying the four suspects, believed to be between 17 to 25 years of age.
Walker said two of the suspects may have been "training" with the others.
"It's a very lucrative job. Unfortunately, you don't normally have four people like this doing it," Walker said Wednesday. "It's usually two people in the middle of the night. They go in there, one zips it and one holds, they jump in the car and they take off. This one looked a little bit different where you have four people, a look-out standing there, watching them cut, almost as if he's training him. Then as they run back to the car, there's a getaway driver which is unique."
The offenders escaped in a silver sedan, but it's unclear what model. All of the men were wearing masks; one of which was a Halloween mask.
"We don't have good shots of their faces at this time, but someone knows that car, someone knows this individual," Walker said.
Catalytic converter thefts has spiked nationwide, more than quadrupling from 2019 to 2021, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Thieves are taking the car part due to a surge in the value of the metals they contain, reports NBC News.
A neighbor on West Pomona Street told investigators that a catalytic converter was stolen off her vehicle just last weekend.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said investigators were trying to figure out if the catalytic converter thefts are related and if they are part of a larger ring.
The PPD asks anyone whith information related to the incident to submit tips by calling or texting 215-686-TIPS (8477). Anonymous tips can also be submitted online.
