Two suspects got away after they attempted to rob a Loomis armored truck at a Northeast Philadelphia Wawa Friday morning, police said.
The attempted robbery happened just before 8 a.m. at the Wawa on Frankford Avenue near Meridian Street in the city’s Holmesburg neighborhood, police said.
Investigators said the suspects were armed as they tried robbing the Loomis truck. The truck driver, who was also armed, fired multiple shots at the suspects, which sent them running, according to police.
Sources reported that the suspects did not manage to escape with any money.
No injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made in the investigation.
One neighbor, who didn’t want to appear on camera, said he heard the shots and immediately looked out his window.
“It was like one shot. Then I feel like it was a boom boom boom boom,” the neighbor said. “I seen the guy coming out, or standing by the passenger side, with the AR. And he yelled to his other boy, ‘Let’s go!'”
“I came outside with my dog, and there were cops with guns and walking, and dogs too, and they said please get back in your house,” said Lee Rosenberg, another neighbor.
Crews towed away a white Acura, a car one neighbor said the suspects used. Investigators also put up a drone over houses behind the Wawa, and eventually an officer climbed a fire truck ladder to access one home’s roof. It’s unclear if anything was found.
Neighbors and business owners in the area said this Wawa has seen its share of incidents. But nothing like what happened Friday.
“That Wawa has always been like, cops are always there, every single day,” said Rudi Panchal of American Auto Frankford. “But at this level, it’s the first time I’ve seen.”
“Not like this. I was just telling my neighbor, this is the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Rosenberg.
Earlier this month, three people were taken into custody following a police chase in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, in connection with a string of armored truck robberies that began in the spring.
Sources previously told CBS News Philadelphia that in one of the robberies, the suspects got away with nearly $1 million.
It’s unclear whether the attempted robbery is connected to the previous armored truck heists that have hit the area.
