Victim in fatal carjacking in Northern Liberties ID’d

A pair of carjackers assaulted a man — who later died at a hospital — before fleeing the scene and taking his vehicle in Northern Liberties Thursday night, Philadelphia police said.

The attack occurred just before 10 p.m. on Third and Cambridge Streets, when two masked men pulled up on what a witness told police was a dirt bike. Then, the pair pulled a 60-year-old man from the driver’s seat of a parked 2023 Toyota Highlander, according to the witness account that police relayed to reporters.

Police later identified the victim as Peter Chan of Chinatown.

An altercation ensued before one of the masked men took off in the Highlander and the other took off on the dirt bike, according to police.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found the 60-year-old lying in the street as witnesses attempted to render aid.

“He was bleeding from the head. He was semiconscious,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters. “He was unable to stand up.”

Chan was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

Small said a a relative of Chan’s arrived on the scene shortly after the man — who lived in Center City — was taken to the hospital.

“We believe the 60-year-old man was waiting in the Toyota Highlander for this relative to show up,” said Small.

Officers tracked the location of the Highlander to Camden, where it was recovered unoccupied by Camden police. The dirt bike was last seen traveling north on Third toward Girard Avenue Thursday night.

Small called the incident a “robbery, carjacking, and a homicide.” He said that several residential surveillance cameras captured parts of the incident.

Police are investigating.

At least 268 homicides have occurred in Philadelphia to date in 2023, according to police data, a 23% decrease from the year prior.

Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.