Philadelphia Carjackers Kill 3 Children As Crime Turns Into Deadly Rampage

A crime turned deadly Friday morning when two Philadelphia carjackers forced a woman in the back seat of her Toyota 4Runner and slammed into a crowd, killing three children. All of them were related — two brothers and a sister.

In a USA Today report, the two suspects are still on the loose and a $110,000 reward is being offered on the condition that they’re caught by Saturday at noon, ET.

“We really want to get these individuals off the street,” says Philadelphia Police Lt. John Sandford.

The carjackers lost control of the vehicle when the three children were hit. The deadly incident involved a girl, 15, and two boys, ages 10 and 7. They were at a fruit stand raising money for their church.

Police think that the suspects may have had a “blow out and that they drove on the wheel rim at a high rate of speed.”

Sandford says via telephone Friday evening:

“They’re babies, they’re kids, they’re out there selling fruit with their mother and I believe a neighbor and for the church telephone. They’re out there doing a good cause.”

The carjacking happened just before 11:30 am ET when the 45-year-old driver of the SUV was forced into the back seat of her vehicle at gunpoint by two men. They drove through an intersection at the corner of Germantown, and Alleghany Aves, and hit a crowd of pedestrians. Both suspects fled the scene on foot. They remain at large.

Witness Renee Charleston recalls seeing a car run through the intersection and noticed the three children laying on the ground.

Homicide Capt. James Clark says:

“Something obviously went horribly wrong at this intersection. The vehicle went out of control, striking these five individuals.”

Sandford says that the mother was “fighting for her life” after being injured. Her neighbor, who was also injured by the carjackers, is said to be in stable condition now.

Philadelphia Police Department needs the public’s help in capturing the two suspects that are described as one Hispanic man and one black man.

Police write on their Facebook page the Philadelphia carjackers are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached by anyone.

NY Daily News adds in its report that Philadelphia’s deputy mayor Everett Gillison is specifically asking for help from business professionals or homeowners who may have surveillance cameras pointing in the direction of the carjackers’ route.

Gillson says this to the heartbroken relatives who lost the children in the deadly carjacking:

“The prayers of the city go out to this family.”

[Photo Credit: Joseph Kaczmarek/AP via NY Daily News]