Corliss Jackson, whose son was killed while leaving a Philadelphia gas station, and her attorney David Thiruselvam relay the urgency of crime at gas stations and why they have decided to take the issue to court.

Carjackings at Philadelphia gas stations have increased by more than 300% this year compared to 2021, according to a report.

“You got to arm yourself. It’s dangerous out here. It’s wild,” Philadelphia resident Melvin Dunn told WPVI.

There have been 30 armed carjackings at Philadelphia gas stations as of mid-November compared to seven in 2021, according to the news outlet. That marks a nearly 330% increase of such incidents.

Read more

Just after 9:30 a.m on March 22, Rasheen Naseeb Robinson pulled his car into the Liberty gas station in East Kensington and stopped in its convenience store. When Robinson, 22, headed back to his car, a gunman shot him five times, including once in the head. He died minutes later.

On August 14, 2021, at about 5 a.m., Alexander Vincent Ott, 29, stopped at the Gulf station in Wynnefield, a leafy neighborhood just inside the city’s western border. Ott wanted to gas up before completing the half-hour drive to his girlfriend’s home in the city’s Northeast section, his mother said. But while Ott was pumping gas, a gunman shot him multiple times in the back, killing him instantly.

The unsolved murders of Robinson and Ott are among 9 killings committed at Philadelphia gas stations in 2021 and so far this year. That’s up from zero such homicides in 2018, 2019, and 2020, police said.

Read more