What began as a late-night attempt to steal a car outside a King of Prussia apartment complex ended with three juveniles in custody after police say one of them opened fire at a witness. Officers later recovered two spent shell casings near the targeted vehicle and reported that no one was hurt.
What police say happened
Upper Merion Township officers were called to the 600 block of South Gulph Court around 9:45 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, after a resident received a motion alert from a Ring camera. According to NBC10, the resident told officers that two males were standing next to a car in the Kingswood Apartment Complex and that one tried to open the driver-side door. When the witness yelled out, one of the suspects allegedly pulled a handgun and fired two shots toward the building before the group took off in a waiting Jeep Cherokee.
Chase ended in Philadelphia
Police later learned the Jeep Cherokee had been reported stolen out of Upper Darby. An Upper Darby officer who spotted the vehicle about 30 minutes after the shooting tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the Jeep kept going. Philadelphia police then located the fleeing SUV, which ultimately crashed, and officers apprehended three juveniles who jumped from the vehicle and ran, according to Newport Dispatch.
Weapons and tools seized
Authorities say the group was found with three handguns, a stash of tools commonly used to break into vehicles, ski masks, latex gloves and a professional key-programming device used to create aftermarket fobs. One of the recovered handguns had been reported stolen and another reported lost, police said. Two of the juveniles are from Upper Darby and the third is from Glenolden, according to NBC10.
Legal status
All three juveniles were taken first to the Upper Merion Police Department, then transferred to the Montgomery County Youth Detention Center to await juvenile court proceedings. Bail was set at $250,000, according to Newport Dispatch. Investigators have not released the suspects’ ages or detailed the specific juvenile charges, pending formal filings.
Broader context
Devices that let thieves clone or reprogram key fobs, along with so-called "CAN bus" attacks, have been flagged by investigators as a growing method for stealing keyless vehicles, and law-enforcement warnings about those tools have increased in recent years. For national reporting and data on this trend, see coverage from CBS News and an analysis of NICB data published by Insurify.
