Delivery Driver Robberies Sweep Northern Liberties and South Kensington
Another victim in a string of robberies in Northern Liberties and South Kensington was attacked on Monday. The robberies began last week and have so far claimed four victims — all food delivery drivers of Asian decent.
Markus Alim, a delivery driver for Seiko Japanese Restaurant ( 604 N. 2nd St.) was making a delivery on the 1000 block of Orianna Street in Northern Liberties. When Alim arrived at the delivery address, he was approached by two males. Alim described one as African American and the other as either Hispanic or of Arab descent.
Robbers are targeting Asian delivery drivers in South Kensington. On Monday a fourth driver was robbed, and he was also assaulted with a gun./Ptah Gabrie
“I can sense that something was about to go down,” Alim said. “They were looking left to right.”
The men forced Alim down a sloped driveway. One of the suspects pulled out a black semi-automatic pistol. “I was panicked because he stuck his gun right in my neck,” Alim said.
According to the police report, Alim did not comply with the offenders initially so they hit him in the head with their weapon. When the incident was over, the robbers had some “comforting” words for Alim. “[One of the suspects] told me, ‘good boy, just relax and get it over with,’” Alim said. The robbers fled on foot south on Orianna Street.
Sgt. John Massi of the 26th district is asking the public to be alert and call 911 if they see any suspicious men loitering around the 1300 block of Hancock Street. All of the attacks seem to be concentrated on streets around that block in empty lots and construction sites. The suspects are using burner phones, making it difficult to trace. Sgt. Massi believes the robbers will continue until they are caught but he is very confident his officers will put an end to this crime spree.
Two of the robberies occurred here on the 1300 block of N. Hancock Street. The robbers are using side streets nearby as well./Ptah Gabrie
Massi pointed out that while working in South Division, he encountered two notable sprees of delivery driver robberies.
“They come in spurts,” Sgt. Massi said. “Each one is slightly different.” The first string was solved after a notification was sent out throughout the community after neighbors alerted police to a suspicious situation. “They saw the delivery guy and the whole neighborhood surrounded the kid and stood by the delivery driver. They held them until we got there,” Sgt. Massi said.
The 100 block of W. Oxford Street is another quiet street where robbers are taking advantage of poor lighting and empty houses./Ptah Gabrie
Another spree involved people calling their friends in Texas and having them place an order back in Philly, where the driver was robbed. The [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] got involved to get warrants and triangulate cell phone signals. The perpetrators were eventually captured.
The police do not advocate getting involved but do urge the public to be wary and call 911 with any tips. He also would like to see take-out restaurants keep track of the numbers people call from. As for Alim, this was all just another day on the job.
“We call this like, shit happens… you will not know what’s coming to you,” Alim said. “It’s a job to me and I just need to be more careful.”
