An armed Lyft driver with a concealed carry gun permit in Philadelphia, Pa., fought back against a pair of carjacking suspects who shot at him and tried to run him over on Monday, CBS Philly reported.
The Lyft driver, identified by police as a 38-year-old male, was driving near the 1100 block of North 40th Street just before 2:45 p.m. EST on Monday when he was rammed from behind twice by a Honda Accord. After the Lyft driver got out of his 2011 Infiniti, one of the carjacking suspects exited the Honda and approached with a shotgun. Fox News reported the armed suspect fired the shotgun and then took over the Lyft driver’s vehicle.
The Lyft driver, who has a valid permit to carry, used his personal gun to shoot at the armed suspect, striking him.
The second carjacking suspect, who was driving the Honda, then attempted to hit the Lyft driver with his car. The Lyft driver was able to avoid being hit and fired again, striking the second suspect.
Both carjacking suspects drove away in the pair of vehicles, but police soon found the suspects.
Police located the first suspect in the 4200 block of Parkside Avenue in the Infiniti. The suspect was found with a gunshot wound to his chest.
The second suspect was found in the 4300 block of Lancaster Avenue in the Honda with a gunshot wound to the right side of his ribcage.
Both suspects were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and placed in critical condition.
The Lyft driver was not injured during the incident.
Police recovered multiple weapons along with the involved vehicles.
Police did not release the identities for either of the two suspects or the Lyft driver.
The carjacking and shooting incident comes amid a rise in violent crimes. 2021 saw a record 562 homicides for the city, according to Philadelphia police statistics. 2020 saw a total of 499 homicides within the city.
So far in 2022, the city has already seen five homicides, up from four at this point in time last year.
