Man fatally shot in vehicle while wife sat in passenger seat in Pa.: reports

Philadelphia authorities are in search of two gunmen who ambushed and fatally shot a man in front of his wife as he backed up his pickup truck into the driveway of a Northeast Philadelphia home early Thursday morning, according to news sources.

The shooting took place just after 1:30 a.m. along the 7400 block of Whitaker Avenue, near Bleigh Avenue, in the Rhawnhurst section of the city. When police arrived, they found a 34-year-old man unresponsive in the front seat of his pickup truck with his wife sat in the passenger seat, according to reports from 6ABC and NBC10.

Police said the two gunmen were waiting in a parked sedan for the victim to arrive home. When he did, the pair then approached his vehicle and began firing more than 30 shots, striking the driver’s side of the truck at least 15 times, according to reports.

“He was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and torso,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said to NBC10.

Unfortunately, the man died at the hospital a short time later.

“His wife — who was in the front passenger seat — very, very lucky that she was not struck by gunfire because multiple bullets went in the driver’s side and exited the passenger’s side of the vehicle they were in,” Small said to NBC10.

One of two sets of evidence markers show that at least 20 shots were fired blindly through the bushes toward the truck, 6ABC reported.

Right now, it’s unclear why the killers targeted the vehicle. Authorities are hoping that surveillance footage from nearby properties will help them track down the shooters, according to reports.