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A man attempting to steal a car was fatally shot by its owner in Frankford, police say

The owner had stopped at an ATM and left the car running when the alleged thief tried to steal it, police said.

File photo.
File photo.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

A 48-year-old man was killed after he allegedly tried to steal a car and was shot in the head by the vehicle’s owner Friday afternoon in the city’s Frankford section, police said.

Shortly before 3:10 p.m., police responded to a reported shooting on the 5100 block of Frankford Avenue and found the wounded man in a crashed car, police said.

The man was transported by SEPTA Transit Police from the nearby Frankford Transportation Center to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The shooter, identified as a 39-year-old man with a legally owned gun, was taken into custody and was being questioned by Philadelphia police detectives, said Inspector D.F. Pace.

Before the shooting, the car’s owner had stopped at a Wells Fargo ATM and had left the vehicle running when the older man jumped in and tried to take off, and that’s when the owner fired his gun, Pace said.

The car traveled a short distance before crashing, Pace said.