Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, became the scene of a traumatic carjacking incident on Thursday afternoon when a father was violently overtaken by two assailants while his children were in the vehicle, as FOX29 reported. The event unfolded on the 7100 block of West Chester Pike around 3:15 p.m. and escalated quickly as one suspect overpowered the father, injuring his eye, and absconded with the car—a white Honda SUV—while the 2-month-old child was still inside.
According to NBC10, the suspect wore a black hoodie emblazoned with a "Monster" logo and after driving off fired a shot that hit a SEPTA bus thankfully without injuring any passengers, the five-year-old sibling managed to exit the car before the suspect drove off, the father with a cut on his eye was not seriously harmed.
A considerable manhunt ensued, which eventually led to the vehicle being abandoned just a quarter mile from the crime scene, surveillance footage captured the first suspect running down a sidewalk after leaving the SUV and the infant unharmed in the backseat, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt commented on the situation, stating, "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," his words come from NBC10's report.
The second suspect, described as wearing a grey shirt and sporting a distinctive pink cast on his left hand, fled towards the 69th Street Transportation Center, Action News detailed; earlier in the evening, officials swarmed a house on New Street after a tip suggested it was related to the suspects although it turned up empty with Bernhardt pleading, "turn yourselves in," indicative of the authorities' determination to capture those responsible as the community's sense of security dangles in the wake of such brazen daylight criminality.
Upper Darby police have implored anyone with relevant information to contact the authorities, while the full extent of their investigation has not been disclosed, the suspects are still at large, and renewed efforts are being made to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents.
