PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police need help from the public in finding three suspects involved in the shooting death of a man who tried to stop them from stealing his car Wednesday night.
Police identified the victim as 50-year-old Michael Salerno.
Police say Salerno’s friend was inside the car, a Pontiac sedan, on the 1100 block of Porter Street in South Philadelphia around 10:45 p.m., when the three suspects believed to be in their mid-teens to early 20s forced her out and demanded the keys. That’s when Salerno showed up and tried to stop them.
One of the carjackers pulled a gun and shot him once in the head. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
The suspects fled the scene in a red Kia Soul with out-of-state license plates. The vehicle can be seen in video captured by a nearby security camera.
“We do see the offenders’ vehicle ride past in the area several times. So it appears that the offenders were in the area looking to either rob a person or attempting to take a vehicle,” said Lt. Hamilton Marshmond with the Homicide Division.
Marshmond advises carjacking victims to not fight back and to give the offenders the keys to the car.
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“Some individuals are fed up. Some individuals are tired. But we still urge not to engage. We still urge to call 911,” Marshmond said. “We still urge to be a witness, get as much information that you can on the offenders and contact the police.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the crime to call the Homicide Division or to send a confidential tip via phone or text at 215-686-TIPS.
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CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, police said they were looking for two suspects. It has been edited to reflect new information from the police.