A man was beaten while being forced to drive miles by a group of armed carjackers overnight.
Three armed men burst into the man's SUV and demanded a ride possibly believing the vehicle was a taxi. What ensued was a violent ride that only came to an end after a police detective opened fire on the suspects.
Philadelphia Police say the incident began around 12:30 a.m. Monday when the driver dropped off his girlfriend at Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philadelphia. Three men approached the stopped red SUV and demanded a ride.
Police say the victim tried to explain that he wasn’t a cab driver but that the men forced the man to give them a ride after they began to physically attack the driver.
The armed men forced the man to drive more than 2 ½ miles to the 5100 block of Rubicam Street in the city’s Germantown neighborhood -- continuing to assault the driver along the way, according to police.
When the men arrived on Rubicam Street they pulled the driver form the car and continued to assault him, police said.
Just around the same time a police detective responding to a separate crime scene turned down the street and saw the attack. The officer identified himself to the attackers before the armed men pointed a gun at him while getting back into the SUV.
The officer opened fire striking the vehicle a few times.
The SUV was abandoned a couple of blocks away. It’s unclear if any of the suspects were hit.
The driver wasn't identified and police didn't say if he was injured during the ordeal.
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